The Someday Trilogy: Once Upon A Time
by Pandora147
Summary: Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions
1. Chapter 1

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **A massive author's note is included AFTER the chapter for the purpose of not putting off anyone new to my work from the word go because I know author's notes irritate some people.

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**Chapter 1**

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"Okay… right hand green!" Ryan called.

No, it wasn't some type of finger painting exercise. Rather, it was a game of Twister. Gabriella had her right foot on red, her left foot on yellow, her left hand on yellow and her right hand on blue. Troy and Chad both moved swiftly, leaving her to manoeuvre herself in a seemingly impossible manner. She gritted her teeth, picking up her right hand and shifting her weight to the left, reached out underneath Troy, her head between his legs.

"Uh Gabriella? If you decide to lift your head in a sudden movement, could you let me know in advance so I can jump away?" Troy said.

"Maybe if you and Chad didn't keep purposely taking the ones close to me, then I wouldn't have to have my head in a position which is precariously dangerous for you," Gabriella pointed out.

"It is quite unfair for Gabriella," Martha sympathised. "They are taller. And can stretch further."

"That was an oxymoron Troy," Taylor said. "She wouldn't really decide to move her head suddenly… if it happened suddenly it would just happen. Not after making a decision."

"Hurry up and spin the fucking wheel before I fall!" Chad yelped.

"Ooh keep talking if he's about to fall, I'm quite comfortable here," Gabriella said.

"You're comfortable between Troy's legs?" Zeke quipped.

Gabriella blushed. "That's… that's… not how I meant it!"

"I said hurry the fuck up Evans!" Chad reiterated.

Ryan smirked, and spun the dial again. "Okay… right foot blue."

This was easy for both Gabriella and Troy, however Chad groaned as he was left to contort himself into a literally impossible position. Being Chad, of course he attempted. He failed, crashing to the ground in a thud, and in the process knocking over Gabriella, who caused Troy to land in a thud as well.

"Ow, are you TRYING to break my leg?" she whined where Troy's arm had whacked her.

"Would you have preferred I fell the other way and kicked you in the face?" Troy enquired cheekily, as he sat up.

"Fuck, I landed right on my funny bone!" Chad groaned.

"Was it funny?" Jason enquired.

"Not in the slightest."

"No really, my shin really hurts," Gabriella said with a pout, rubbing her leg.

Troy leaned over, pressing his lips against her leg gently. "That better?"

She giggled. "Is that how you fix all injuries?"

"Uh huh," Troy said. "I think I saw you bang your lip as well."

"Maybe," Gabriella agreed.

The young lovers drew in the gap, lips connecting in a sweet, chaste kiss.

"What about my injury Troy?" Chad asked cheekily. "My arm is REALLY sore. Are you going to kiss it better?"

Troy raised his eyebrows, and made a sudden movement toward his buddy. Chad snatched his arm away.

"Dude! I was kidding!" he said hastily.

"Okay get off the mat, I wanna play now!" Kelsi said enthusiastically, poking Chad and Troy in the back to prod them to move.

"Me too!" Ryan said, tossing the spinner aside.

"I'll spin the wheel," Martha volunteered.

… … …

If you had told this diverse group of people eight months earlier that they would be together, hanging out, voluntarily – they would have laughed at you. It wouldn't have happened. Only in homeroom, drama class and in the wider space of the cafeteria would they all be in the one room at the same time. If you had asked each of them over the winter break who they would be spending their spare time with during the summer break between junior and senior year, the answers would have been a far cry from the situation which had transpired.

You would have been given stock standard answers about basketball and parties from Troy, Chad, Zeke and Jason.

Kelsi would have given you a passionately excited speech about her plans to work on her new musical composition, and some of her rock ballads.

Ryan would have mentioned the amenities of the Lava Springs country club, and taking on some additional dance classes over the break.

Taylor would have listed off the AP English reading list for the following year.

Martha would have told everyone else that she would enjoy reading – but secretly known she would be taking hip hop classes.

Gabriella wouldn't have had a clue what city she would even be living in the following summer.

Basketball was played. Books were read. Music was written. Dance classes were taken.

But in addition to the above, Troy, Kelsi, Zeke, Gabriella, Jason, Martha, Chad, Ryan and Taylor had been spending time socialising. As a group. Together. In one room, at one time.

Finally, the summer was theirs. It had been theirs until things had gone awry at Lava Springs. But things were better now. It was tentative – Troy couldn't just say sorry and then make up for everything. You can't just say 'build a bridge' and have it be that. The bridge has to be build. The talent show night was the first in a series of steps.

… … …

Zeke, Kelsi and Ryan were now in a laughing mess on the mat.

"Hey, do you guys like SingStar?" Ryan asked.

"Troy and Gabriella would," Chad remarked.

Troy threw a cushion from the couch across the room, with perfect aim, hitting Chad smack on the forehead.

"Drunken SingStar is the best!" Zeke commented. "I played it at my cousins last year after having a few too many beers."

"Go on, plug it in," Taylor encouraged Ryan.

"What's SingStar?" Martha asked.

"It's like karaoke kind of. You get points for singing in pitch," Jason told her.

"Sounds fun," Gabriella said with a grin.

"Oh, shot gun singing Nirvana!" Chad exclaimed, looking on the back of one of the song lists.

"Uh… So do you reckon Sharpay will come down any time?" Zeke asked casually.

Ryan glanced at him. "Uh… to be honest, no."

"Oh."

"She's just screwing with you man, flirting with after the talent show. Get over it," Chad said with a sigh.

"I don't think it was like that," Ryan said, defending his sister. "She had a rough night…"

"So she just wanted a bit of cold comfort?" Chad supplied.

Zeke was looking crushed. Ryan sighed. "Do you want me to go ask her if she wants to come down?"

"Oh… if you like. It doesn't matter," Zeke said casually.

Chad groaned. "I'm gonna need to drink more. Troy, come with me."

"You're like girls needing a friend to go to the bathroom," Taylor giggled.

Troy and Chad ignored her comment, and headed in the direction of the small kitchen (that's right, the SMALL kitchen… there were multiple kitchens), straight to the refrigerator to pour a couple of glasses of coke.

"I feel a little weird here man," Troy confided in Chad. "I mean, we've known the Evans twins for like 9 years. And now suddenly we start hanging out at their house?"

"We're hanging out at RYAN'S house," Chad said. "Just forget Sharpay is here."

"I don't think Gabriella wants Sharpay to come down."

"As if she will. You saw the look on her face earlier when we all rocked up. She didn't want anything to do with us."

"Fine by me," Troy said darkly. "Besides, it's not just Sharpay that makes me feel weird being here."

"Ryan's a cool guy. We've hung out with him a bit lately," Chad said, referring to himself and the rest of the group.

"Yeah, I noticed. Always conveniently when I'm teaching one of the golf classes."

"That's coincidence, man. And I don't think you are one to be getting weird about us having a new friend when you spent half your summer running around with the Redhawks."

Troy threw his hands up in the air. "I thought we'd moved past this?"

"We have," Chad assured him. "Just saying is all. I hadn't really thought about the fact that we've been hanging out when you weren't there. We'll have to plan a bit better, coz I reckon you'll think he's a cool guy also if you get to know him."

Chad retrieved the bottle of bourbon from the cupboard Ryan had indicated they were fine to take whatever from.

"Can you imagine yourself thinking that six months ago?" Troy smirked.

"Fuck, two months ago I wouldn't have thought I'd ever think that," Chad admitted. "Things change."

"Tell me about it."

"Speaking of change… I decided I'm gonna ask out Taylor. Like actually. Really. On a date."

"When? You've been saying that since the last day of school man," Troy pointed out.

"Tonight. Now. Soon. Before I get too drunk," Chad said decisively, right as he was pouring the bourbon into their glasses.

"Come on, a little more," Troy encouraged.

He rolled his eyes, but complied, pouring more alcohol in. "Guess I'd better go ask her now if you're trying to get me drunk sooner than I'd planned."

"You reckon Mr and Mrs Evans really don't care about us drinking?"

"Man, I doubt they hardly even know we're here. And I know for a fact they would never come into this kitchen."

"You nervous?" Troy asked.

"About drinking?"

"No. About asking Tay out."

"Nah, she'll say yes," Chad said confidently. He then paused. "I think."

"How you gonna ask?"

"Well, I was going to take her out into the moonlight, and gaze up at the stars, give her a flower and then the string quartet was going to arrive…" Chad said sarcastically. "Dude, I'm just gonna ask her out! There is no 'how'!"

"Of course there's a how!" Troy exclaimed. "To start with, you need to decide where you're gonna go to ask. You don't want to get interrupted halfway through. And you need to think about where you are going to suggest you go. Or, are you going to just say, let's go out, and then she might think you just mean as friends. Or, she thinks it's as more and she plans it and takes you somewhere like… I dunno… the OPERA."

Chad was beginning to feel a little worried. He tossed the drink back, drinking the whole lot in one quick chug.

"Maybe I should be drunk for this."

… … …

Ryan stood poised outside of his sister's room, a pineapple vodka mixer in his left hand. He carefully knocked on her door in the "knock knock knock-knock knock, knock knock" that he would always use on her door.

"What?!" Sharpay's annoyed reply came, knowing it was Ryan.

Ryan slowly opened the door. Sharpay was snuggled up in her pristine four poster bed, with Boi sitting primly beside her, a pink bow adorning his head.

"Hey Shar," Ryan said quietly.

"Are you drunk?" Sharpay demanded.

"A little tipsy," he admitted. "Listen, do you wanna come down and hang out with everyone?"

"No," she said simply.

"We're playing SingStar. You LOVE SingStar."

Sharpay ignored him, her eyes glued to her television screen.

"I'll sing Baby One More Time with you," Ryan persisted.

She ignored him.

"Zeke wants to see you," Ryan added.

Sharpay picked up the remote control and turned up the sound, drowning him out.

… … …

Chad decided to ignore every last bit of Troy's advice about thinking about what to say. He followed his gut instinct. It was what he followed with every decision he had made in his life, and he wasn't about to change. Chad strode up to where Taylor, Kelsi and Ryan were engaged in a conversation, laughing about something, and he grabbed Taylor's hand.

"Come with me," he requested, tugging her away.

Taylor allowed Chad to pull her away, taking her into the first empty room he could find, a dining room.

"What's up?" Taylor asked.

"Would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?" Chad asked.

Taylor blinked. She and Chad had been doing this dance of flirtation for almost six months. To be honest, she had doubted whether they would ever become anything more serious.

"Uh… sure…" Taylor managed to say.

Chad grinned. "Off the hook. I'll come pick you up tomorrow night at 6. Dinner and a movie sound like a plan?"

"Uh… sure…" she stammered, echoing her previous response.

"Awesome. Come on, let's get another drink."

"Uh… sure…"

"I hope your vocabulary extends again by tomorrow night," Chad remarked. "Anyone would think you've been hanging around us lunkheads too long."

… … …

Troy came out of the bathroom. Alcohol always had a tendency of creating more bathroom trips. Jason was heading up the corridor towards him.

"J-man," Troy greeted him.

"Hey Troy… can I uh… Can I talk to you about something, man?" Jason asked, feeling a little uncomfortable.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Uh… okay?"

Jason glanced around, and then pulled Troy back into the bathroom and closed the door behind them. The two guys stood around in silence, Troy waiting expectantly, Jason feeling uncomfortable and trying to form the words.

"Do you think I have a shot with Kelsi?" Jason finally asked.

"Only way to know is to ask her," Troy said.

"No really. You reckon I have a shot?"

"Well, I know she definitely thinks you're a cool guy. I honestly wouldn't know whether she would want more. I could ask Gabriella if you want?"

"No!" Jason said quickly. He sighed. "I just… I don't know how to talk to her, how to start the conversation. It's fucked, man. Like, at Dee's farewell party a couple of weeks ago, I found it real easy to talk and flirt with Monica and Liana and their crowd. But then with Kelsi I just… go all weird."

"Because you actually LIKE her," Troy explained. "Trust me, that's what I was like with Gabriella in the beginning."

"So what do I do?"

"Just… be yourself."

"That's great advice Troy. 'Be yourself'," Jason said sarcastically, shaking his head.

"What do I look like, a fucking relationship counsellor?"

… … …

After emerging from her conversation with Chad and retrieving another vodka mixer drink, Taylor located Gabriella who was talking with Ryan in the lounge room, setting up the SingStar game.

"Chad asked me out," Taylor whispered, not wanting Chad to overhear. He was in the next room talking with Martha and Kelsi.

"Like actually? On a date?" Gabriella asked. "When are you going?"

Taylor nodded, a wide smile lighting up her face. "Tomorrow night."

"Finally," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. Even as a newcomer to their group, he knew that Chad and Taylor had been flirting for ages.

Gabriella gave her friend a quick hug. "Tomorrow, we go shopping, and we talk about it in WAY more detail!" she declared.

… … …

Troy wandered out into the backyard after talking with Jason, and found Zeke sitting out by the pool.

"Enjoying the quiet?" Troy asked.

"Something like that."

Troy noticed that Zeke was staring up at the second floor. He sighed.

"Is that Sharpay's room?"

"Yeah."

Troy groaned. "Dude… you're bordering on stalker here."

"Shut up."

"Hey man, I wanted to ask your advice about something. Uh… about Sharpay," Zeke said, staring down at his sneakers.

"Man, I am so the go to guy for girl advice tonight," Troy remarked.

"Since you got to know Sharpay over summer, I thought maybe you could help me," Zeke said honestly.

"The best help you can get is to just get over her, man," Troy said honestly. "You do realise the reason I spent time with her was because she was fawning all over me."

"Yeah, thanks dude, I needed to be reminded of that," Zeke said bitterly.

The truth was that this had been a source of tension between Troy and Zeke. This was the first one on one conversation the guys had been involved in since they had all started working at Lava Springs. Zeke hadn't enjoyed watching the girl that he had a crush on obsess over his buddy.

"Maybe you did. Dude, she's known you've been interested for like six months. If something was gonna happen, it would have happened."

"But after the talent show we hung out… and then at the pool party we were dancing…" Zeke protested.

Troy sighed. "True. But… okay. Truth. You're right, I spent a lot of time with her, and I do think I know her better than I did before. I know you think that there are these hidden layers to Sharpay, and I think you're right man. But the layers… they're fucked up. She's complicated. I think there's a lot of issues, with her, with her family… it's just one big complicated mess that you don't wanna get into," Troy advised.

Zeke sighed. "I guess."

Troy suddenly heard the sounds of Jason's slightly off pitched singing coming from inside.

"Sounds like the SingStar has started. You coming in?"

"Yeah, in a bit."

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

After playing several rounds of 'Pass the Mic' on SingStar, and consuming several rounds of alcohol in the meantime, the novelty of the karaoke was beginning to wear off, even in this group of singing inclined individuals.

"I think we should all crash down here and see how long we can stay up!" Kelsi said excitedly.

"Yes!" Troy agreed hastily.

He found the upstairs portion of the Evans mansion even more intimidating then the downstairs, with the labyrinth of fancy guest bedrooms.

… … …

Gabriella went upstairs with Ryan to help him with organising mattresses, blankets and pillows to drag downstairs.

"So uh… did you and Troy want a room or…" Ryan asked.

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Ryan! No! We're… we don't…"

"How would I know?" Ryan said defensively. "I'm new to this whole social circle. Figured I should ask."

"Well thank you but… no! Absolutely not!"

"But are you guys okay now? I know that things went a bit crazy back with uh… you know… my sister and stuff," Ryan said.

Even though Ryan was not responsible for his sisters actions, a part of him always felt personal guilt for the affect that her plotting had upon other people.

"Good but... I think there's still a lot of talking left to do about it. I guess the important thing is that we both realised that our relationship is more important than any of what was going on, and we're willing to work on it. I really think that everything is going to be fine."

… … …

Gabriella wasn't sure how it happened. The mattresses had been dragged downstairs and they were all just sitting around on the floor; chatting, randomly watching MTV, eating the remnants of the chips and lollies that were scattered throughout the room. There had been no permanent decision made about a sleeping pattern. She and Troy had been sitting together… and then lying together kissing… and the next thing she knew the rest of the group had given up on the staying up late plan and were dimming the lights, leaving her snuggled up with Troy on a double fold out mattress, the one big comforter to share between them.

Troy didn't seem to be making a big deal about it, he just grabbed a pillow and handed it to her, spread out the blanket and proceeded to settle down.

'_It's just sleeping, Gabriella. You've slept in the same bed as a boy before. Sure, it was your cousin… and you were 9… but it's no big deal.'_

She rolled onto her side, facing away from Troy. The logic behind it was that if she could pretend he wasn't there then maybe it would be less of a big deal. However Troy seemed determined to make his presence known. He was wriggling about, trying to get comfortable but obviously not having a lot of luck.

"Troy?" Gabriella whispered questioningly.

"It's hot, I can't get comfortable," he complained.

"Then don't use the blanket," Gabriella suggested.

"I can't sleep without a blanket."

"Then... I don't know... take off your wife beater. I don't care."

Troy was grateful for this suggestion. He normally just slept in his boxers, especially during summer. He'd lashed out and found a pair of striped pyjama shorts in the bottom of his cupboard to demonstrate a bit of discretion, and when he'd wound up with Gabriella kept his wife beater on. The material against his chest was proving uncomfortable and prickly; making it impossible to get comfortable. He peeled off the shirt and finally settled down.

He rolled over onto his side, to face the back of Gabriella's head. Slowly but surely, he inched his way forward, until he was nestled right behind her. His arm fell onto her waist, draping across her tummy and drawing her even further into him.

"So this is spooning," Gabriella whispered.

"Mm hmm," Troy murmured, softly planting kisses along Gabriella's shoulders and neck.

"It's probably not helping you if you're warm," she whispered.

"Don't care."

Gabriella couldn't help but smile, allowing herself to cocoon within his warm embrace.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE –**

**I am updating this as at November 4, 2008; however this story was first published on June 24 and it was finished on October 23. **

This is the first chapter of the first part of _The Someday Trilogy._ This ramble here may seem a tad daunting but is important so pretty please persevere!

There are quite a few stories out there which explore senior year. This version is one which was created prior to knowledge of High School Musical 3. I personally am really excited about is my post high school stories that I want to tackle in the future. But I feel as though I can't write about those experiences without going through the earlier experiences. To appreciate the place where they wind up, I feel as though you need to understand where they have been. So even if I never posted this, if I'd just skipped this whole period in time and gone ahead and written the future fic – I would need to write _Someday_, just for myself. So why not post it, I figure.

This story is divided into **three (3) parts** which I could post as three individual stories in their own right but it's a continuing series of plots and subplots. The first part forms a larger part of the length, however a shorter period of time. It fills a few bazillion chapters, going from… hmm, summer between junior and senior year, until… probably just after Thanksgiving. Or thereabouts.

The second and third parts become more disjointed, with interludes between the parts; allowing for time to be more or less skipped. These parts will also, in contrast to the pace of the first part, cover time in a fraction of the amount of chapters as the first section.

Any similarities or dissimilarities between my story and High School Musical 3 are **unintentional**. I have written my entire trilogy in my brain, I began to envisage it before HSM3 was even confirmed; I wrote ALL of this before the release of HSM3. **For the purpose of this story, HSM3 is irrelevant**.

I also know the M rated thing is becoming particularly popular, and not only popular but also being written really really really well. AussieEllie is a fave of mine in this category. So I know that exploring 'the firsts' isn't as exciting as it once was. But again, as an author, it's something I need to do. As an author, as a person, as a woman in love with Zachary... ahem.

So. **This is rated M. **It is not a light M. It is a heavy M. It is an M for the reasons that the majority of stories in this fandom are rated M. There will be a plot to support this element of the story, but, the **porn **will remain in its place. If you've read my work previously, you'll know that I write in relatively comprehensive detail. A single conversation can go for like 3000 words if you get me on a roll. Part 1 of this story in particular will more so follow the pace and style of Here With You, but dealing with more mature relationships and emotions and also going into a lot more detail with different characters.

I am not going to change my writing style to make you less likely to blush.

I will not skim over these scenes.

**IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS, DO NOT READ THIS STORY**.

I encourage feedback and constructive criticism about my work, but I will not tolerate any kind of abuse if you find it offensive that I am writing in this kind of detail. I've warned you now, so if this is going to bother you, then I suggest you either don't read OR read and skim over those parts.

Another thing I feel the need to make a remark about is in relation to the pairings I will be incorporating. At its heart, Someday is a **Troy and Gabriella** story. But I am going to attempt to explore multiple subplots, including other pairings (Chad and Taylor predominantly) and friendships (Ryan and Gabriella FRIENDSHIP note FRIENDSHIP will be prominent) and just generally the issues that come with the high school package. There might be whole chapters with hardly any Troyella. I hear you gasp, BLASPHEMOUS! If you leave me a review saying "Good, but more Troyella" then I will be grateful for the review count going up but I will not listen to your advice in the slightest. If all you want is Troyella fluff, go elsewhere.

Anyway. Enough rambling.

I prepared this story with the assistance of a whole crew of fabulous people, predominantly with the beta reading work of Ayen aka ZVKG-ai; and Martin aka emptrajan.

A final note is to anyone who has not yet encountered me. Hello. I am Pandora147 aka Dani. When I wrote this story, for a good portion of the time I was backpacking around the world, woo hoo go me. This provides a lot of context to some of my random author's notes throughout about where I am in the world. :-)

I am really really excited about this story and I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and are excited about what lies ahead.

**So after all that... Thoughts? Review please :-) xo**


	2. Chapter 2

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

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**Chapter 2**

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The Evans' family lounge room was an interesting sight the next morning. There were some empty premixed alcohol bottles scattered throughout the room; a collection of glasses and dirty plates; the PlayStation 3; microphones lying by the entertainment unit – and 9 teenagers zonked out on the floor, fast asleep.

They could have gone upstairs into the bedrooms; there was enough sleeping space for them all. But instead they'd chosen to stay up late together downstairs chatting until the wee hours of the morning. Ryan had supplied fold out and blow up mattresses, as well as blankets, comforters and pillows galore.

Gabriella was the first to begin to stir. The morning sun had filtered through the blinds and was shining right over her, warming her skin and making remaining asleep difficult. She took a moment to adjust to where she was – it was that moment when you wake up in a foreign bed and think 'now where am I?' It also took a moment to adjust to the warm body which cocooned her; and the muscular arm that was encircled around her tummy, holding her close. She smiled, enjoying the serenity of closeness. It was a different feeling, sleeping with someone so close to you. At first Gabriella had been afraid to move, concerned that her wriggling about would affect Troy's sleep. However she soon succumbed to the comfort, serenity and warmth that she felt, having him so close to her.

She was in the barely awake, still adjusting to the notion of no longer being asleep stage. She was rather enjoying lying so close next to Troy, and was perfectly content to continue lying beside him, listening to the comforting sound of his shallow breaths. Troy shifted a little in his sleep, not waking. He had shifted forward a little, nestling closer into Gabriella. Her bottom was nestled against his… hang on… what was that…

Suddenly, Gabriella was pulled right out of the 'barely awake' stage and right into the land of the very awake and very freaked out. Her eyes widened, cheeks literally blushing pink.

Gabriella Montez was a practical girl, a girl of logical thought processes, a girl who made each decision in her life on the basis of carefully weighed up positives and negatives, considerations of alternatives and ideal outcomes. In that moment however, she only had the capacity to maintain two strands of thought.

One. Fear/embarrassment.

Gabriella was frozen still, absolutely petrified of moving. Her eyes wide, impersonating a deer in headlights; cheeks blushing pink. She didn't want him to wake because then he would know that she was there and that he had that and… it was a conversation that Gabriella was damn right petrified about. In their entire time dating, only once had the three letter act been discussed in any way, shape or form. So yes, definitely a conversation she was petrified of. However she didn't want to stay WITH him because then she had to continue to feel IT and contemplate IT and again, it was a series of contemplations that she wasn't prepared for.

Two. Intrigue.

As she lay frozen, she was so busy contemplating her options and trying to work out how to entangle herself from his tight embrace without causing him to stir – that she almost forgot about what had her worked into a frenzy in a first place. Troy's sudden movement an inch further in HER direction served as a solid reminder. There was no doubt about it. She didn't need direct experience to know what it was that was poking her in the lower back. Certainly, it was through the soft material of his cotton pyjama bottoms and therefore providing SOME discretion – but nevertheless it was unmistakable.

She gave up trying to make logic out of the situation, and the most comprehensible thought running through the highly advanced brain of Gabriella Montez became something along the line of –

'_Shit shit fuck damn shit shit fuck shit damn shit!'_

She took a couple of deep breaths before making a decision. She carefully brought her hand to his which was resting on her tummy just underneath her singlet. Gently, she picked it up and rolled away, setting down his arm. Troy stirred slightly, and Gabriella froze.

"Triangle defence," he murmured sleepily, before rolling over and snuggling down in the comforter, clutching onto the bunches that were around his chest.

Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief, and eased herself off the fold out mattress and padded in the direction of the bathroom.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Troy first started to stir when the sound of bickering interrupted his sleep.

"Chad, you're such a pig! That is disgusting!" Taylor exclaimed.

"You love it," Chad responded teasingly, clearly unfazed.

Troy slowly opened his eyes. He spotted Jason still fast asleep on the couch, but other than that, the sleeping bags and mattresses had all been abandoned. The bickering was coming from the next room. Troy sat up, yawning and stretching.

And then he realised his predicament.

It was a regular occurrence for most teenage boys and especially for Troy. But normally he would be in the privacy of his own bedroom with the ability to alleviate the issue. If it was just the boys, it wouldn't be as big of a deal. But it was Mr and Mrs Evans, and Ryan, and Sharpay, and Kelsi, and Taylor…

And Gabriella.

Troy glanced in the direction of the nearest downstairs bathroom. It was just off the lounge area, he could see it from his position. The door was open, it was unoccupied. He reached over to where his overnight bag was sitting and pulled a change of clothes out, bundling them into a ball. He then eased himself off the mattress and stood up, casually carrying the clothes in front of him. He poked his head into the next room – literally, keeping his body out of sight around the corner.

"Morning all. Ryan, is it cool if I grab a shower?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Sure, go ahead. There's towels and stuff in the cupboard."

"Cheers."

Chad snickered as Troy walked past, seeing the bundle of clothing Troy was using as a nice little screen.

Troy heard the snickers and was mortified. Here he was trying to be suave, but unfortunately he and Chad had slept over at one another's houses often, and also talked about their bodily functions enough to know very well what was going on.

"Shut up Chad," Troy called back before disappearing into the bathroom.

"Didn't say a word," Chad replied.

Kelsi and Martha exchanged questioning looks.

"What was that about?" Kelsi asked.

"Private joke," Chad said simply, and continued to munch on his toast.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

They spent the rest of the day hanging out at the Evans house. Where else did they have a kitchen stocked to the brim with snacks and goodies of multiple varieties, as well as a pool to relax by? This was reason enough to keep Ryan Evans within their social circle.

The boys of course had to turn the relaxing afternoon into a competitive game, setting up a volleyball net in the pool to play water volleyball. They tried to coerce everyone to join in, however Gabriella wasn't particularly interested.

"I can't play, we'll have uneven teams," she protested.

"We could ask Sharpay to play," Zeke suggested.

"She's not here. She's at the club," Ryan said. "Javier is on today so she's probably strategically tanning by the pool."

Troy sighed. He had thought that maybe his conversation with Zeke the night before had done some good. Obviously not.

"So we're back at uneven teams," Gabriella said.

"So what, you girls are probably useless anyway so you'll need extra players," Chad teased.

"I'll have you know that I am VERY good at volleyball Danforth!" Taylor said haughtily.

"Oh really?"

"Yes really."

"Prove it!"

"I will!"

As Taylor and Chad squabbled, Gabriella quickly escaped, setting up her towel and a novel underneath a shady tree by the pool. She had found the perfect location where it wasn't too hot but she could still enjoy the warmth of the sun's rays.

Gabriella glanced up every so often, keeping track of the game. It appeared that Taylor was right and she was indeed very good at water volleyball. Chad, on the other hand, seemed to lack any sort of skill and finesse. Gabriella wasn't surprised to see that Troy was an excellent player – given his athletic midas touch. Kelsi and Martha quickly grew tired of the game, and Jason wasn't far behind them. The large assortment of pool noodles and banana lounges were a whole lot more appealing.

Troy hopped out of the pool to retrieve the ball which had been sent flying out of bounds, tossed it back to Chad and then ambled over to where Gabriella was lying on her back, sunglasses shielding her eyes from the sun's harsh rays. She glanced up briefly, noting that he was dripping wet.

"Don't you dare get any water on my book," Gabriella warned.

Troy rolled his eyes but obediently retrieved a towel, patting the water down and wrapping himself up.

"What are you reading?" he asked.

"Lord of the Flies. It's on my reading list for Literature this year," she replied. "It's really good. I think you would like it. I've read it a bunch of times."

Troy proceeded to spread out his towel on the grass right next to her, lying on his side and propping himself up by his elbow.

"Maybe you can read it to me," he suggested.

"I don't know whether my voice would be the best to narrate the story of a group of young boys," Gabriella responded.

Her eyes had remained trained on the page, barely looking up at him as she spoke. He reached over, snaking his arm around her middle.

"I think maybe you should put the book down because I have a better idea about what you could be doing to pass the time," he said, a glint in his eyes, leaning towards her.

Gabriella didn't put her book down, but didn't protest as his lips softly met hers. As usual, his kisses performed their ability to sweep her off into their magical daydream world where only the two of them existed. She didn't even actively remember putting down the book. All she knew was Troy; and lips of Troy; and warm, muscular arms and abs of Troy...

The summer had brought the two of them much closer, and it had made them more comfortable with their attraction to one another. Without the confines of school and restrictions about public displays of affection, Troy and Gabriella were more and more frequently becoming immersed in one another.

At first it had been a little disconcerting for their group of friends. Sure, there were plenty of couples at school who they had seen getting it on; they'd been to parties littered with making out (and then some); many of them had participated in very public games of truth or dare or spin the bottle. However, there was something different about Troy and Gabriella. They had come a long way from the shy, demure kiss on the cheek on stage in the auditorium at the musical call back. They'd even come a long way from the kiss they'd all witnessed at the club after the couples reunion, as they were all out on the golf course watching the fireworks. Now, a person observing Troy and Gabriella might question whether they could actually feel the other ones tonsils.

The first time they'd had the opportunity to witness the sudden development in the relationship was when they were at Zeke's watching a movie. Troy and Gabriella were squished into an armchair to the side of the room. Gabriella remembered Cher dancing with Christian at the college party and then the next thing she knew, the lights were being flicked on and Chad was wolf whistling. Had she and Troy really been kissing that long?

At first, it was strangely uncomfortable being around the couple when they became immersed within their own world. It was like you were intruding. But gradually it became natural and even customary to be within eyeline of the land of 'Troyella' as Taylor had once dubbed it - to be met by leers and groans from the group. Just like most people found no need to question the need to breath or the importance of brushing one's teeth – those within eye line of Troy and Gabriella considered viewing the couple in a passionate embrace as a regular event that formed a part of the day.

And here it was again, the Troy and Gabriella bubble, now occurring in the Evans family backyard.

At some point Troy had removed her sunglasses and tossed them aside, which didn't really matter seeing as her eyes were closed throughout the session anyway. Gabriella was wearing a bikini top with a pair of short board shorts over the bottom half. As Troy's weight shifted from the towel to be slightly on top of her, their stomachs were skin to skin. A Troy in board shorts meant a chest of nicely developing abs for Gabriella's hands to roam over. However it was his upper arms which she loved the most, clutching onto them as she kissed him furiously.

There was a sudden pressure against her thigh… a pressure which she would barely have noticed if it weren't for the morning's incident. Except now, they were both wide awake. She froze for a second, and then made the very quick decision to pretend she hadn't noticed. She wasn't ready for a conversation about it, especially not by the pool with an audience of friends to witness.

Troy knew there and then that she knew just what affect she had on him. There was no way that she could not have noticed the pressure against her thigh, and if anything her momentary hesitation indicated that she had noticed. It wasn't the first time it had happened around her, and Troy was certain it wouldn't be the last. Of late, it seemed to happen all the time. He would normally be careful to ensure his weight was shifted away from her, that their torsos weren't mashed up together. He was glad that she hadn't made a big deal about it. Although a conversation about the matter was certainly impending, however Troy still wasn't sure how to approach the matter without being THAT guy. He contemplated just continuing to kiss her. If she was content to pretend everything was normal, he was more than willing to go along. However in his current state, a continuation of the present activities could very possibly lead to a messy situation.

Troy abruptly pulled away, shifting his weight away from her. "We have work soon."

Gabriella groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Come on… we should get our stuff and head home to get ready."

Gabriella nodded regretfully.

Troy quickly ran in the direction of the pool, bomb diving. Cold water. Always does the trick.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

While the majority of their friends were slaving away, hard at work on the night shift at Lava Springs Country Club; Chad and Taylor were sitting across from one another in a cosy, quiet restaurant. It was a very unChad like selection. Taylor had been expecting he would take her to Chuck E. Cheese, or maybe if he felt like splurging, the local pizzeria. However he had upped the ante and brought her to a restaurant, a real restaurant – one with menus and table service and waiters. From the conversation he'd had with the maitre de, she could deduce that he had requested this cosy little romantic corner on the balcony.

As a matter of fact, his behaviour in general was very unChad like. He was being polite, opening doors, pulling chairs out. Not once had he argued with a thing that Taylor had said. He was even dressed in an unChad like manner – wearing dress slacks and a navy blue button down shirt. The truth was that she found this Chad rather disconcerting.

"Chad?" Taylor asked tentatively.

"What?" he asked nervously.

"Did you ask Troy for advice about tonight?"

Chad looked at her sheepishly. "Is it that transparent?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"This restaurant is where Troy took Gab on their first date."

"I felt like I'd been here before!" she exclaimed. "Even though I knew I hadn't. I just had it described to me in such detail that it was familiar!"

"Don't you think it's nice though?" Chad said, a little anxiously.

"Yeah, it is," Taylor said. "It's one thing getting advice on where to take someone but seriously Chad – I feel like I'm living one of these dates which Gabriella spends way too much of her time telling me about," Taylor commented. "I don't wanna be here with some Troy gimmick. I wanna be here with Chad."

"I just… I guess I wanted to make a good impression. We've kinda… kinda been dancing around this whole, going on a date thing for a while now. If I fucked it up, that kinda would have blown."

"Well it's not too late. Stop acting like Troy and start acting like Chad. Argue with me, dammit!" Taylor exclaimed, a smile toying on her lips.

He grinned. "You did make a very inaccurate remark earlier about the Lakers that I let slide."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Gabriella and Ryan were strolling around the Lava Springs grounds. Gabriella's shift had been short, the pool closed at 9 so once she had cleaned up the area she was free to leave. However her ride home was of course Troy, and he was on waitstaff duty until at least 10:30.

"Thanks for hanging with me," Gabriella said. "You didn't have to."

"It's cool, not like I have anything better to do. I could give you a ride home though, I drove my car here today so…"

"That's okay, I'll wait for Troy," Gabriella said with a smile.

"You get this silly little look on your face when you talk about him," Ryan teased.

Gabriella's mouth dropped open, and she slapped him gently on the arm. "Shut up!" she protested.

"I think it's cute."

She was blushing, but she didn't try to deny it.

"I can't believe there's only a few weeks left of summer," she said, trying to change the topic.

"Tell me about it. In a month we will officially be in our senior year. In less than a year, we will be high school graduates."

"Don't talk about it, it's scary. I am perfectly happily living in the land of denial where I believe that summer is going to just continue forever and ever."

"Yeah, but you like school, don't you?" Ryan queried.

"I don't hate it. But… I guess there are other things I would prefer to be doing."

"Making out with Troy?" Ryan supplied.

Gabriella glared at him, but a smile was toying on her lips. She couldn't help but novel at how quickly she and Ryan had become comfortable enough with their bond to so blatantly tease one another in such a way. It didn't feel forced though, it felt right. She'd learned over the years that there are some people who you are able to forge a bond with very quickly. Like she had with Ryan. So she had no qualms about admitting to him that he was right on the mark.

"Well, yes. That is rather enjoyable. But not just making out with Troy. Also... just hanging out with my friends. And reading the books that I want to read."

An exasperated groan sounded, and Gabriella and Ryan looked up to see Kelsi coming out of the back door.

"What's wrong Kels?" Gabriella asked.

"I never thought I'd say this but I am so, so, so, sick of the piano. If I have to play another piece of 'mood music' again in my life, I think I might officially shoot myself in the head."

"You're getting paid to play the piano. Just look at it that way," Ryan said optimistically.

"Believe me, the dollar signs are the only reason I manage to get through a shift."

"Was it busy in there?" Gabriella asked Kelsi.

"Quietening down."

"I might go in and see how long Troy is going to be."

"Are you waiting for your mom to come pick you up?" Ryan asked Kelsi.

"Yeah, I was about to call her."

"Do you want a lift?"

"That would be awesome," Kelsi said gratefully.

"Are you sure you don't want a lift Gabriella?" Ryan persisted.

"I'm fine. You guys go. If it's quiet, I'm sure Troy won't be long."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The ride across town from the restaurant to the cinema was relatively quiet. Chad had borrowed his mother's car, and spent the first ten minutes of the drive trying to change the radio station.

"Chad, watch the road!" Taylor had snapped.

"Backseat driver," Chad grumbled.

"I'm not sitting in the back."

They were now seated in the back row of the theatre, watching the previews intently. Taylor was sitting to Chad's right; her left hand was resting beside her thigh. She glanced down and saw that Chad had moved his hand just short of hers, and was inching in her direction. Taylor boldly closed the gap, taking his hand in hers, fingers entwining. She glanced up at Chad, smiling shyly. He grinned, and licked his bottom lip slightly.

"Hey Tay?" he said softly.

"Yeah?"

"You know how you told me that you didn't want me to act like Troy? And that you wanted me to act like Chad?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you find it inappropriate if, as Chad, I wanted to kiss you right now?"

"I can't believe you're even asking me that question."

Chad grinned and leaned over, capturing Taylor's lips in his own. She responded quickly, probing his tongue with her own. The joined hands parted, the armrest between them being pushed up. Taylor's hands were resting on the back of Chad's neck, under his mass of curls.

He abruptly pulled away. "Hang on…"

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and switched it off. "Last thing I want is one of those dickheads calling me to see 'how it's going' and interrupting. You and you alone have my undivided attention."

Taylor giggled. "Good."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Gabriella wandered in through the back staff door, and poked her head into the kitchen area.

"Hey Gabriella, didn't know you were still around," Jason greeted her. He was by the industrial sized dishwasher, using the hose to spray the gunk off a tray of dishes.

"Yeah I'm waiting for Troy."

"He keeps coming into the kitchen to hide in the corner and send a text message, so I assumed you'd gone home and you were the one he was texting."

Gabriella shrugged. "Sorry, wasn't me."

Troy came into the kitchen, carrying a giant stack of dirty dishes and plonking them down on the dish rack.

Jason groaned. "Do you like BREED dirty dishes Bolton? They just keep coming and coming."

"We had a busy night, I'm sorry that we provided the customers plates for their food," Troy said sarcastically. "Next time I'll serve them their steak on a napkin, shall I?"

He then realised that Gabriella was standing in the doorway between the staffroom and kitchen. "Hey! I thought you might have disappeared on me."

"I told you I was going to wait. I was just outside hanging with Ryan."

"Oh okay. Well I'm just about done, all my tables have left and I just have to help clean up for a bit."

Troy whipped out his phone, quickly typing away.

"Who have you been texting man?"

Troy cleared his throat. "Uh, Chad. He keeps asking my advice. Doesn't have a brain of his own, as we all know."

The phone sounded with a response nearly straight away. Troy glanced at it and then shoved the phone back in his pocket.

"Right… finish cleaning… then Gabriella time awaits," he said with a smile, kissing her gently.

"Go on then, the faster you clean the sooner we can get out of here."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**Author's note: **I head to Edinburgh, Scotland tomorrow (am currently back in London as I went to Wimbledon on Monday) and don't know what the computer access will be like at my hostel there; but I know that in Manchester (where I go AFTER Edinburgh) I won't have free internet. So I decided to treat you and already put up the next chapter just in case I find myself with a week without any regular computer access. Do you love me or what? I will NOT be updating this frequently all the time. So just appreciate it and review me for it. :-) I was **so so** excited about the response to the first chapter, thank you so much to **everyone **who reviewed and put _Someday _on alert and what not. Despite my excitedness about this story there's always that part of you that questions whether people will respond well or not. I'd love to hear from everyone again and those of you who I hope just didn't have time to review and so just clicked story alert... ha. Sorry. Shameless review hint yet again. **-Dani xo**


	3. Chapter 3

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Once again thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far, I love hearing your thoughts guys and it means so much to get all of the lovely feedback, I walk about with this silly grin on my face - no joke! It seems I'm still reeling in lots of newbies into the story alerts which is awesome, I hope you guys are all enjoying and hopefully I can hear some thoughts from some of you! Turns out I do have internet access in Edinburgh (where I am now... which by the way is a totally gorgeous city even with the crazy road works going on) so you lucked out. Another chapter already. I most likely won't have access over the next four days or so (unless I stumble across somewhere really cheap in Manchester where I head Monday morning) so this might be it for almost a week. Snuggles to Ayen for her lovely work even though it was so long ago that I sent her this chapter that I can't even remember if any modifications were made... ha. I'm sure whatever commentary there was, it was very thoughtful.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**Chapter 3**

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Despite the freedom that summer brought, life continued to have a routine. A routine which for all of the Wildcats, centred around Lava Springs. They were all working four or five shifts each week – sometimes more when given the dreaded split shift. Things had changed dramatically at Lava Springs since the talent show. Sharpay may not have decided that the Wildcats were material worthy of spending time with; however she had stopped commanding Fulton to generally make their lives miserable. Nevertheless, they were still working, and he was still their manager. So it wasn't all laughs.

Troy's job had become a hybrid of the two roles he performed over the first half of summer. He'd asked for his kitchen/waitstaff role back prior to the talent show; and as it turned out the following week, one of the waiters resigned, so Troy's help was indeed a necessity. However Fulton continued to use him in the golf program, teaching junior classes and on occasion caddying. And reimbursing him nicely when being called upon to perform such roles.

The events of the first half of summer had been lifted and placed into a box. They couldn't be forgotten. Nothing in life can be completely removed from memory – without the intervention of some form of dementia or long term severe amnesia. But for now, they were the unspoken events. And Troy was okay with that because finally he was enjoying his summer. He was making decent money, spending time with his friends, training hard for next season and – most importantly – spending time with his girlfriend.

The introduction of a vehicle into his life made dating a whole lot more interesting and a whole lot more fun. One of his first additions to the truck had been to put a big old mattress in the tray. One night after taking Gabriella out to dinner, they had bought a tub of ice cream and disposable spoons from the convenience store, drove up the hills to a romantic look out, and parked. Lying under the stars with Gabriella by his side, cheekily licking a drop of ice cream off the crook of his mouth – it could have been easy to forget that they were emerging from a rocky period within the relationship.

Could have.

However as the past had proven over and over, it was impossible to forget. There would always be a reminder.

"Troy… on Saturday night, you know how you were texting Chad?" Gabriella asked, somewhat tentatively. "You know, at work."

Troy was clearly uncomfortable. He shifted his weight, sitting up and leaning against the side of the tray of the truck. "Uh… yeah?"

"I know you weren't texting Chad," she said softly. "I don't know who you were texting, but it rather obviously wasn't Chad."

"Oh?" Troy said guiltily, his eyes avoiding hers.

"I wouldn't have cared if you hadn't lied to us about it. I mean… you can text whoever you want to text and shouldn't have to justify it to anyone."

Troy sighed. "Owen. I was texting Owen. He's one of the Redhawks."

Gabriella didn't answer. She just shifted her own weight to sit up next to Troy.

"He texted asking if I wanted to come train with them some time this week. And I said that I can't and… he was asking me why not and stuff," Troy elaborated, finally moving his eyes from the mattress in the truck, up to look at Gabriella.

"Do you not WANT to go train with them?" Gabriella asked quietly.

Troy stared at her in disbelief. "Uh… well…"

"It's okay if you do," she added quickly.

Troy let out an almost strangled laugh. "That's a change in tune."

"I mean… it was a really great opportunity for you, and for your game. Playing with them."

"Yeah… this I am well aware of… I'm still waiting for you to explain why it's so different than when I was playing with them a few weeks ago," Troy said pointedly.

"Because you were blowing off your friends to go play with them," Gabriella said bluntly.

"This is why I lied about who I was texting Gabi… because everyone likes to pretend that they've moved on but I know that you all still have issues with everything that happened."

They both fell silent.

"We haven't really talked about it in detail," Troy said quietly, tracing his finger along her forearm. "I mean… given that we practically broke up. I guess… I guess we should talk about it more than we have."

Gabriella closed her eyes, sighing. "I know we should but I was perfectly happy just pretending that everything is okay."

"But if we don't talk about it, then it's not going to stay okay, is it?"

She shook her head. "Probably not."

Silence fell again.

"Okay… I'll start," Gabriella said.

"Okay."

"Um… okay… to start with, I've had a lot of time to think about it all and… well... the truth is that I think we all… overreacted a bit," Gabriella admitted.

"Oh, you do, do you?" Troy asked, raising his eyebrows.

She nodded sheepishly, drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging them. "I was annoyed when you were late for a few of our dates and stuff. And when you always seemed to have time for the Evans family but not for your friends… and not for me… BUT I do understand WHY you were doing what you were doing. I do understand how important a scholarship is for you. And… after last year with the Roadrunners… I understand that the opportunity was particularly important to you."

"That's why I was so… I guess… surprised, when you of all people, were getting upset with me. I thought that you would have understood all of that."

There was a hint of resentment within Troy's tone.

"Troy, if you had come to me and said, I know we had all these plans to spend heaps of time together, but I've got this really amazing opportunity and I really want to make the most of it. If you'd have explained that you might need to spend a time of time hanging out with the Evans family… and then just set aside some special 'Gabriella' time and stuck to it… everything would have been cool. I would have missed you, I would have wanted to spend more time with you – but I would have been cool."

"I tried!" Troy insisted. "You know I did! But... it just… kept going wrong."

"Sharpay kept stealing your attention away," Gabriella said quietly.

"Gabiriella please give me some credit. You know that it's you and only you. EVEN IF I was going to think about being with someone else – it would never, ever, ever, ever, ever in a million years be Sharpay."

"My brain knows that but… there was always that part which thought that maybe when you'd been spending time with her you'd formed some kind of bond or… something," Gabriella said lamely. "And then Taylor…"

Troy sighed exasperatedly. "I don't know if I want to hear this. Taylor is great but sometimes I think she just needs to keep her prejudiced opinions to herself."

"Taylor isn't prejudiced!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I think Taylor was upset because our perfect little group that we'd been forming seemed to come crashing and burning. She puts so much energy into pretending she's this independent woman who is against everything that is stereotypical about high school. But when it comes down to it, I think she has always wanted to be in a group of friends who can hang out and spend time together socially. You're like the centre of our group in so many ways, and so when you were off with Sharpay all the time… I think Tay took it personally. It wasn't about her thinking you were blowing me off. She felt personally blown off."

Troy paused. "Do you remember after the competition with the Roadrunners, when you and I were talking about how I feel as though I have all of these different compartments?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah."

"All of that came back. I had to be all of these different people at the same time. I've got my dad over here telling me that I should be milking the time with the Redhawks. And then there's Sharpay and her parents – who let's face it, are fairly influential in this town – who seemed to think that the talent show was some ticket to basketball success – why I still don't really understand. Then I was given the promotion which, I saw as not looking at a gift horse in the mouth. I knew that I only got it because Sharpay had a thing for me but… I had all this money. And… and I knew that I needed money for college and… and then I'd have some spare so I could maybe take us to nicer places or… or get you a better present for your birthday next year or just... or a just coz present or... or whatever! But then I was working all the time and it meant I never saw you and the guys were pissed at me and… Ultimately someone is going to be let down."

"It's like the butterfly effect, everything in life is connected. When you do something in this part of your life, it affects everything else in your life," Gabriella said softly.

"Exactly!"

"But... I think you need to stop thinking about the different parts of yourself, the different compartments, as being a hindrance. They all overlap in the centre because they all form a part of who you are. You are Troy Bolton because you are passionate about the things and the people that you care about; because you're motivated and driven and set your mind to achieve challenging goals. You're Troy Bolton because you're open minded and willing to try new things and accept different people; because you're down to earth and funny and generous. It doesn't matter whether you're playing for the East High Wildcats or the Los Angeles Lakers – that is who you are, those are the qualities which make you an amazing player and a respected captain. You're an amazing basketball player not only because of your athletic ability. It's also because who you are becomes a part of your game. You use your passion and dedication and motivation and channel it into your training regime. You inspire the guys in your team to approach the game with that same dedication. You are a fantastic leader not because you can make a three point jump shot with your left hand, but because of your passion, because people respect the person that you are on the inside."

"I thought this conversation was going to be all Troy bashing, not trying to inflate my ego," Troy said, feeling a little strange about hearing Gabriella's words describing him.

"Last year, when you were playing for the Roadrunners… I know things became a little crazy and stressful. And we were worried about you and everything. But… you remained YOU the whole way through. You were still dedicating all of yourself into every aspect of your life. You won the respect of the guys on the team because you are you. You respected your Wildcat team mates, even got Chad and the others to help you guys out and train with you. I know you were struggling to balance everything, but in the midst of that struggle you never lost sight of the person that you are. This summer… that was why I was upset. Because you lost sight of who you are. Because suddenly, particular compartments seemed to be prioritised over other compartments. "

"Basketball over you?" Troy asked quietly.

Gabriella shrugged. "Over me... over your friends… Fair enough that basketball is your future. But you lost sight of the fact that without your friends, you wouldn't have had those opportunities. The guy that I think is so incredibly amazing and who I just want to spend every waking moment with – is Troy. Not Troy the hoops guy, or Troy the assistant golf pro, or Troy the third Evans child. You were so busy being all these other people that you forgot to just be Troy."

"I might have forgotten to be Troy but… I'm still me, Gabi. I haven't changed. I've grown but… I haven't changed," Troy said earnestly.

Gabriella nodded. She shifted on the mattress, now sitting cross legged. "I know that. Which is why... which is why I came back to the talent show. Because... because I know who you are and... and I wanted to be with that person. Not wanted... want. Present tense."

Troy laughed slightly. "Glad to hear it's present tense because it's very present tense for me too."

Gabriella reached over, taking Troy's hand with hers, fingers naturally lacing. "I'm glad we talked about this. And... and I want to keep talking about it, when necessary. Because... because everything that happened is important. And I don't want to go into this school year without you Troy."

"I don't think I could physically get through this year without you with me," Troy responded softly. He leaned over and pressed his lips softly to hers. "I wish I could change everything that happened but I can't."

"We can just learn from it," Gabriella said quietly. "And... I think it all turned out for the best. Because now I know just how much I need you."

"Right back at you."

Lips met again for another soft kiss.

"If training with the Redhawks is something that you enjoy doing, then I think that you should do it," Gabriella said quietly. "Just… just not at the expense of your friends."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Taylor arrived at work on Wednesday, a sense of trepidation filling her. She'd just had her four day weekend of the month – being Saturday Sunday off last week, and then Monday Tuesday off this week. Since her date with Chad on Saturday night, she hadn't heard from him. Three whole days and then some had passed, without a word of contact. Taylor was a confident in who she was, she wasn't ashamed to admit that she enjoyed chemistry and that generally would prefer to read a book than attend a wild party. But there are common threads between nearly all teenage boys and all teenage girls, regardless of race, social status or nationality.

Boys around the world will fail to call girls 'tomorrow' when they say they'll call 'tomorrow'. Because in boy time, tomorrow can mean tomorrow, but it can also mean next Thursday and it can also mean next month.

Girls around the world will freak out when the boy doesn't call. It might mean nothing. But it could also mean that he didn't have a good time, that he never wants to see you again.

So when she walked through the kitchen to go into the staffroom, she held her head high and walked straight through without even looking around to see who was present. A hand grabbed her by the arm.

"Hey!" Chad exclaimed.

Taylor stopped. She didn't quite look him in the eye. "Hello."

"You okay?" Chad asked.

"Fine," Taylor insisted.

Chad narrowed his eyes. "Taylor McKessie, on Saturday night you told me to just be me. It's not your style to beat around the bush."

Taylor sighed. He was right. "I uh… I thought you might have called," she said nervously.

"So now that we've been on a date, you're gonna become one of these girls are you?" Chad remarked.

"Well you're a little hard to read Chad. It took like six months to go from making out, to random flirting, and then you finally ask me out. But for all I know you only did it because all our friends keep saying we should be going out. For all I know you aren't actually interested in me in that way, and you'd rather we were just friends who flirted and randomly made out at parties and that maybe you wish that you had never..."

Taylor was silenced by a set of warm lips pressing against hers gently.

"You told me to stop being Troy and I'm gonna tell you to stop being Gab. I know they are our best friends, but we're not them. I'm not gonna sit here and declare my eternal feelings about how we were meant to be together and blah blah puke. I know that I got the opportunity to get to know you, and I think you're a cool chick. Yeah it took a while but we finally went out. I had a LOT of fun with you on Saturday – would you agree that we had a great night?"

Taylor nodded, smiling slightly. "The best night."

"Awesome. So that's great. We had a great night. If you'd like to, I'd like to take you out again some time really soon. I'm sorry I didn't call to specifically say that but I was kinda working the last couple of days and knew I'd see you today so… I just figured I'd see you here."

"Maybe a random text message next time?" Taylor suggested, with a slight smile.

"Deal."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

One of the perks of Fulton's newfound semi-relaxed approach to management was that on days off, employees were allowed to utilise club facilities. Ryan suggested to Gabriella that she come in on her day off to try the spa and sauna. She was a little hesitant at first, but once sitting immersed in the warm water with a fruit mocktail by the edge of the spa – she concluded that being friends with someone who knew the best spots at Lava Springs was absolutely brilliant.

"I'm so glad we started hanging out," Gabriella commented to Ryan. "It seems so silly that we hardly talked last year."

"I don't know if Troy would agree," Ryan remarked.

Gabriella made a face. "Ryan, if I can tolerate the girls at school fawning all over him; and if I can tolerate him being really close friends with people like Paula – then I think he should be fine with you and I being friends."

"Chad asked me if I like you," Ryan said quietly.

"Oh?"

"I reckon Troy was fishing. You know, realising that Chad and I have been playing ball a bit and so thought Chad could find out for him. Maybe it's something you and Troy need to talk about."

Gabriella groaned. "I don't need any more drama with Troy right now. We're finally at a really really great place, with no distractions in the way. It wasn't easy but we got there. And school goes back soon and… I just want to enjoy what's left of our summer without talking about things that are completely irrelevant."

"You know that… you know that it's just platonic, how I feel? I mean… if other people are questioning it then I can't help but worry that you think I have an ulterior motive."

Gabriella shook her head. "No, I don't think that."

"Good."

Ryan watched as Gabriella sat back with her eyes closed, a slight smile on her face as she stretched out in the spa. He glanced around, checking that there was no one else in the nearby vicinity.

"Gabriella… can I tell you something?" Ryan asked softly.

Gabriella sensed the seriousness of his tone, and sat up slightly, looking at him carefully. "Of course."

"I mean… tell you something that's… something that no one else knows. Well… other than Shar, and that's only because she knows me better than anyone."

"I know we've only been friends for a little while but... you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Ryan was quiet for a long time, trying to find the words. Finally, he decided that since he was going to tell her, that he might as well be direct and to the point.

"I'm gay."

Gabriella blinked. "Oh. OH."

Ryan was somewhat amused. "You actually sound shocked. I thought everyone just assumed it to be the truth."

"I thought you knew me well enough to know that I don't exactly make assumptions about people," Gabriella said.

"True."

"Umm... how long have you known?" Gabriella asked curiously.

Ryan shrugged. "When you were little, and society was conditioning you into the concept of the fair maiden being swept off her feet by the prince; when your Barbies had to have Ken's to be friends with – did you ever question it? Or... did it just seem normal?"

"I guess it was always normal."

"All that stuff never made sense for me. I mean I never had Barbie's. My dad bought me trucks and a soccer ball and pirate costumes. That was fine. But I think I always knew that I was different. For years, I just thought that it was because I wanted to do the stuff that Sharpay was doing – and so I was taking dance classes and voice lessons. But over the last few years, it really sunk in what it all meant. I understood the implication."

"Have you uh... have you had a... a boyfriend?" Gabriella asked shyly.

Ryan almost laughed. "There was a guy at my dance classes that I sorta mucked around with for a bit. I wasn't really interested though, but it proved to me where my orientation lies."

"And Sharpay knows?"

"I haven't told her. But she knows. And I know she knows. And she knows that I know she knows."

"And you know she knows you know she knows?" Gabriela added with a slight smile.

Ryan laughed. "Yeah. That. I can't believe you're being so normal about this! Just... calm and asking intelligent questions."

"Would you prefer I spat at you and said that you are disgusting?"

"Uh, no thank you. I have the rest of society for that. But I just... I guess since I haven't told anyone before, I wasn't sure what to expect."

"Why did you want to tell me? I mean... I'm glad you did, and it means a lot that you trust me. But... I guess I'm not sure why."

"I'm not sure why either to be honest," Ryan shrugged. "I think... I've just been thinking a lot about it. And trying to come to terms with it. And I think having a friend that knows is a part of it. Accepting it, you know? Like admitting it to you is admitting it to myself."

Gabriella kissed him softly on the cheek. "I think you're very brave. And... and I promise I won't tell anyone. And... and if you ever wanna talk about anything, I'm here, you know that don't you?"

Ryan let out a sigh of relief. "You know what? I'm so glad we started hanging out too."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**Author's Note: **Okay. I have two pieces of commentary here.

The first is in relation to the mofo Troy/Gabriella convo. Some of this kinda refers back to _Play It My Way_ (any reference to the Roadrunners) so if you have picked up on my canon from _Someday _and this conversation didn't completely make sense to you, that's probably why - but mostly it wraps up HSM2 stuff left hanging because singing a song and kissing under the fireworks is NOT how to solve a problem. Anyway, so it should have been fine for you to comprehend but some of it would have been a bit wtf.

Secondly. In relation to Ryan and his sexuality. I have made it public in my profile that this is my opinion of his sexuality. If anyone has any moral or religious objections, to be frank I don't want to hear about it. You are entitled to your opinions and I am entitled to mine. If you simply object on the basis of your interpretation of the character and you're mentally bashing me for taking this route... I'm sorry but it's my story. Ultimately it's a TxG story and so it won't be the focal part of the plot so please don't let this put you off the whole story. If you have no objection to my interpretation but are concerned about the fact that you don't want to read any graphic portrayals of this sort of stuff - I won't be going there. I will explore the EMOTIONAL and various DRAMATIC plots relevant. I will not be writing slash. There WILL NOT be any Chyan Tryan any of our male character -yan plot line at all.

Thoughts? About not just the above but in general? -Dani xo


	4. Chapter 4

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: ** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: ** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello from Manchester! (Waves to Kate)**

Did everyone else have the same problem with the lack of notifications coming to your e-mail from ff . net? I was about to do my head in working out the situation and then alas, I had about eight hundred e-mails from them. Sigh. Anyway! Oodles of love and gratitude for all of the reviews, I've tried to get back to some of you especially if you had particular concerns/feedback which I really really really totally encourage continuing to provide!

Anyhow, Chapter 4 awaits you...

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**Chapter 4**

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …  
**  
** Summer was coming to an end faster than any of the Wildcats would have liked. The usual Lava Springs staff were returning from their summer vacations. The high school summer work program was to officially end a week prior to the end of vacation, allowing just a week to soak up the final rays of summer and prepare for their final year at East High School.

Thursday was Troy's favourite day at Lava Springs. He was able to sleep in, starting work at midday. He ran two junior golf lessons – from 12:30 – 2:30; and then from 3:30 – 5:30. Typically, his break consisted of hanging out by the pool watching his favourite life guard in action. However on his final Thursday at Lava Springs, Fulton pulled him aside as he was coming out of the locker room.

"Mr. Bolton, would you mind accompanying me to my office?" Fulton asked.

It wasn't a question, it was a request. Troy followed Fulton obediently, glancing at his watch and wondering how long it would take. Fulton motioned for Troy to take a seat across from him.

"I have a proposition for you," Fulton said.

"A proposition?" Troy repeated.

"We've had a lot of really fantastic feedback about the junior golf lessons you've been running over summer. To the point that our demand for the year round junior golf program has doubled, and we're planning to run an trial extra class on Saturday mornings; in addition to our usual Sunday afternoon class. Would you be interested in staying on at Lava Springs for the duration of this trial?"

"Uh... what would it involve?" Troy asked hesitantly.

"Just four or five hours on Saturday mornings. Come in, do a general set up, run the class, and then tidy up basically. There might be additional opportunities to pick up extra shifts throughout the year when we run events."

"Uh... and... compensation?" Troy asked.

Fulton hid a smile. He wrote down a figure on a piece of paper and held it out for Troy to see. "Would you find this acceptable? Or, off the hook, as you might say?"

Troy cleared his throat, eyes boggling. "I think we can work something out."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

There were certain perks to being the son of the owners of Lava Springs. Extended membership privileges were an understatement. Ryan Evans pretty much had access to whichever part of the club he sought access to. This was a privilege which Sharpay of course exploited on a regular basis. Ryan, on the other hand, enjoyed the simplicities of life. A seaweed body scrub was enough to keep him content.

Nevertheless, he felt no qualms about walking straight into the kitchen in the middle of a busy dinner shift. It was the busiest shift of the year – perfect to round off the Wildcat summer job experience.

"Good news guys," Ryan called, plonking himself down on a chair in the corner of the kitchen.

"Oh yeah?" Chad said, somewhat distracted as he was comparing his order pad with the meals on the tray in front of him. "Zeke, I said they wanted no TOMATO, not no ONION."

Zeke exhaled noisily. "Sorry man, it's fucking crazy in here tonight."

"Yeah well it's fucking crazy out there too."

"Party at my place tomorrow night!" Ryan called.

Chad perked up, suddenly his attention was completely on Ryan. "Party? Did I hear party?"

"Theme is cocktail," Ryan continued.

"Theme?" Jason repeated. "I don't understand."

"It's not hardcore. Just... dress nicely and bring along some different spirits and juices and mixers you can get your hands on. I should be able to supply most of it though so don't stress. Just be there is all."

"Who is coming?" Martha asked.

"Everyone. Everyone is invited. Everyone from here, whoever from school. I don't care really."

"Everyone is invited to what?" Troy asked, coming into the kitchen carrying a pile of dishes, and dumping them in front of Jason. Jason gave Troy a look like he wanted to murder him.

"Cocktail party at mine tomorrow night," Ryan informed him.

"Sweet. I'll bring some midori. Someone gave it to me for my birthday last year, I don't even remember who and God knows I don't drink the shit."

"Fantastic. Anyway, spread the word, okay? I'm just heading out to the pool to tell Gabriella and Taylor."

The night came to an end – very slowly. Diners were sitting around for hours after finishing their meals, ordering drink refill after drink refill. A few random late night customers made the process of cleaning a whole lot more difficult than normal. The wait staff's eyes were reflecting dollar signs as they examined the overflowing tip jar as a result of generous country club members.

Meanwhile out at the pool, opening hours were extended to allow members to soak up the atmosphere for a few extra hours. Despite her state of complete exhaustion, Gabriella's eyes were closely trained on the pool. There were one too many alcohol affected swimmers for her liking.

Javier approached Gabriella's stand. "Hey, you can go on your last ten minute break."

She smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks."

"Gabriellaaaaa," she heard a voice sing-songing out to her.

She looked up to see Ryan and Taylor sitting at one of the umbrella covered tables. She collapsed into the chair. Ryan held out a water bottle to her.

"How many hours left?" Gabriella groaned.

"Less than two," Taylor said, her voice indicating that she too was looking forward to the end of the night.

"Where have you been tonight?" Gabriella asked.

"The KIDS room," Taylor said, making a face, and adding sarcastically, "GREAT end to my time here."

"I have news to cheer you both up. What are your plans for tomorrow night?" Ryan asked.

They looked at one another. "Sleep," Gabriella declared.

"WRONG," Ryan said. "I'm having a cocktail party. Nothing too fancy, just dress up a bit and I'm supplying pretty much everything. Just try to bring some random mixers, different juices and stuff."

"Sounds fun," Taylor said, non committedly.

"It'll be MORE than fun, this will be the party of the summer," Ryan declared.

"Anyway, I have to go back. My break is over," Taylor said. "Let me know the details if you leave before I finish."

"Will do."

Chad wandered out into the pool area, passing Taylor along the way. "See you after work?" he asked, squeezing her arm.

She nodded shyly. "Okay."

He collapsed into the chair she had vacated. "So Evans, what's the go with this party?" Chad asked.

"Well like I said, cocktail, and..."

"No, no. I mean, what made you decide to throw a party and invite every person on the planet? I just checked my cell and I've gotten text messages from like a dozen people spreading the word. People I hardly know, let alone would expect you to know."

Ryan shrugged. "Thought it would be fun. Have a real celebration… well… commiseration really."

"I could probably have it at mine if you didn't want to though."

"Please. I've got tons of space and can access a heap of alcohol," Ryan justified.

"Trying to be cool?" Chad joked.

"Yes," Ryan said very seriously.

"What, you think we've started hanging out with you because you have a big house and your parents don't care what goes on?" Gabriella said.

"You no, but the others, maybe," Ryan admitted with a shrug.

"Bull shit," Chad scoffed.

"Whatever. I wanna do it, so it's cool."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

As Ryan stood in the middle of his patio the following night, gazing around at the dozens upon dozens of semi inebriated teenagers surrounding him – he couldn't help but think that maybe Chad and Gabriella had a point. Still, everyone was enjoying themselves and that had been his ultimate goal.

When he had said cocktail, he wasn't completely naïve. He didn't expect a refined experience. But he thought that maybe people would be so busy being creative in their drink creations that maybe they wouldn't get so hammered.

Then Chad arrived with a list of shots he had printed from the internet.

"I said cocktails, Chad," Ryan said disapprovingly.

"I am dressed up," Chad said, motioning to his clean pair of jeans and dress jacket he'd thrown over his t-shirt. "And this is a list of cocktails. They are simply comprised of a variety of spirits and placed into a smaller glass and consumed at a faster rate."

Ryan couldn't help but laugh.

Chad poured two shots of, according to the book, was entitled as a "quick fuck."

"Cheers?" Chad said, holding up the glass.

Ryan nodded, lifting his own. "Cheers."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Troy considered himself to be somewhat a man of class, a man with respect for women. When Gabriella and Taylor arrived wearing short summer dresses, Troy threw all elements of respect out the window. Hell, she was his girlfriend, wasn't she? If he wanted to check out her ass, he would damn well check out her ass.

Gabriella was not obtuse to Troy's blatant stare. His blue orbs bore into her, even facing the other direction she had a sixth sense that she was being watched.

"See something you like, Mr Bolton?" Gabriella asked cheekily, approaching him and planting a soft kiss on his lips.

"Yeah actually, there was this hot chick just over by the..." Troy began to say, pointing in the opposite direction. A thwack in the arm told him exactly what she thought of this little joke.

"Okay I have a plan for tonight," Gabriella said. "Get very very very very very tipsy. But not drunk. I do NOT want to vomit."

"Well generally people don't drink with the intent of vomiting but yes, that sounds like a good plan. Although I must warn you that if Chad has anything to do with it, I might surpass that state."

"If Chad has anything to do with it?"

"I believe when we arrived and he poured us each a shot, the exact phrase used was 'boys, time to get wasted.'"

Gabriella snorted. "Sometimes I wonder what Taylor sees in him."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Zeke, Chad, Troy and Jason found themselves alone in group, sitting at one of the outdoor tables. A bottle of bourbon and a bottle of coca cola were in the middle of the table. The boys had abandoned cocktails for now - Chad was insistent that they all needed to get completely blind and that the time spent creating cocktails would be better spent consuming standard drinks.

A group of the country club girls were gathered around a table nearby. Jason and Zeke were making very little attempt to even pretend that they weren't checking them out. Troy and Chad were being a whole lot more discrete about their sideways glances.

"The one on the far left is hot," Jason remarked. "Except of course she was checking Troy out earlier."

"Well Troy is happily unavailable so just have a crack," Troy declared.

Jason shrugged. "Meh."

"He'd rather have a crack at Kelsi," Zeke commented.

"But never will," Chad added.

"I am right here you know, you don't have to talk about me like I'm not here."

Troy picked up his glass, downing the remainder of his drink and then proceeding to pour another. "Zeke, the girl in the yellow, she was just looking at you. Go for it."

Zeke bit his lip. His newfound resolve to move on from Sharpay dictated that he should indeed go for it. Nevertheless, there was something strange about making a pass at a girl; at the home of his crush... or 'former' crush.

Taylor approached the group of boys. "Are girls banned from this little discussion?"

The guys glanced at one another. Taylor noticed the group of girls sitting at the next table over, glancing in their direction.

"Don't answer that question. Ryan sent me over to tell you to mingle. He doesn't like the groups all being segregated."

"That's a sign Jason, that we should go mingle with the girls," Zeke declared, suddenly feeling empowered.

Jason on the other hand looked a little less certain. "I'm right. You go."

Zeke shrugged and strode over to the girls. He was immediately welcomed into the group, flanked with girls on either side.

"Chad, come mingle with me," Taylor requested, tugging on his arm. "Please?"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Inside the Evans mansion, Kelsi stumbled into Gabriella and Martha who were giggling as they concocted another cocktail, making a giant batch of strawberry daiquiri's in the blender.

"Oh my God. Do you know Marty?" Kelsi asked a little breathlessly.

"The hot kitchen hand from Albuquerque Boys College?" Martha asked.

"That's the one. I've been sitting out by the pool with him for like AGES. He keeps moving closer… and I think he's interested."

Martha whistled. "Go Kelsi."

"Uh, no," Kelsi said, staring at her.

"You don't owe any loyalty to Jason," Gabriella said quietly. "I know you're kinda into him and you guys flirt but… there's nothing official. If you're into this other guy, then go for it."

Kelsi took a deep breath. "He is hot. And… and I am into him. And I can't sit around waiting for Jason to stop flirting with the cheerleaders. Yes. I can do this."

"Atta girl," Martha said.

"I can do this," Kelsi repeated her mantra, and then picked up one of the cocktails the girls had made. "Can I? Thanks." She chugged it down, made herself another drink, and then headed outside.

"That's just great, now I'll be the only wallflower," Martha grumbled.

"Excuse me, you are no wallflower. You are hanging out with ME," Gabriella said.

Martha raised her eyebrows. "Til Troy distracts you. Which he should."

"There you girls are!" Taylor exclaimed, coming into the kitchen. "Oh my Lord I just escaped the most boring conversation EVER. Chad and I were talking to some of the country club people. You know, the ones who go to boarding schools and come back into town just over summer."

"Cocktail?" Gabriella offered.

"Please."

Chad came into the room, letting out a huge groan. "I need a drink. Right now."

Taylor offered him her cocktail, which he gladly accepted a drink from. He then wrapped his arm around Taylor's waist, kissing her softly on the cheek.

"I think we need to set rules in this relationship. Never, ever, ever leave me alone with people that Ryan knows from the club. I don't care about horses or croquette."

"Relationship?" Taylor enquired.

Gabriella smirked. "Uh oh Chad, opened a can of worms with that one."

Chad looked at Taylor seriously. "Uh... yeah... relationship. At least... I say relationship. Do... do you say relationship?"

Taylor smiled broadly. "I say relationship."

Chad returned her bright smile, and was quick to press his lips to hers to seal the deal. "So girlfriend of mine, what are you doing now?"

"Making out with my boyfriend," Taylor murmured.

All Gabriella and Martha could do was roll their eyes and leave the room. They were halfway to the patio door when they ran into Troy, who had entered the house – and was completely saturated.

"What happened to you?" Gabriella asked. She couldn't help but eye at the way his t-shirt was clinging to his well defined body.

"I was kidnapped and pushed into the pool," Troy grumbled.

"Come on, let's go find you a towel," Gabriella said, taking him by the arm and leading him toward where she knew there was a linen cupboard upstairs.

Martha stood alone at the bottom of the stairs, staring at her drink.

"Well then. Back on my own again. Just as predicted."

"Did you say something?" someone asked as they passed.

Martha shook her head. "Doesn't matter."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile, Gabriella had located the linen cupboard and had led Troy into the bathroom. "Give me your shirt," she instructed.

"Excuse me? That was a bit forward, Miss Montez," Troy remarked, a smile toying on his lips. He would normally hold back from making such a comment, but his alcohol induced lowered inhibitions loosened his tongue.

She rolled her eyes. "I want to wring it out. It shouldn't take long to dry."

Troy followed her instruction, pulling the sopping wet shirt over his head and handing it to her. Gabriella was standing over the sink, and began to squeeze the water from his shirt.

"I'll just leave it…"

She turned around, and was suddenly taken aback. Troy was standing watching her with an amused smile on his face. His wet jeans were hanging low, the top strip (and then some) of his Bonds displayed as a teenage boy must display them. His tanned skin was glistening from the pool water. She'd seen him all summer shirtless; but there was a difference between a shirtless guy in board shorts and a shirtless guy in jeans. Rather than having connotations of swimming; there were connotations of being half naked.

"… here," she managed to finish saying, as she hung the shirt up on the towel rack. She brought a dry towel over, patting down his chest. "Umm…"

"Stop talking," Troy murmured, and leaned down to kiss her softly.

Gabriella dropped the towel and clutched onto his arms as she hungrily probed his tongue with her own.

Troy pulled away from the kiss abruptly. "Do you want to go make out somewhere other than the bathroom where we are bound to be interrupted?"

Gabriella nodded. "Uh huh."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Jason always thought of himself as being the fourth wheel when it came to his group of friends and their relationships with the ladies. Troy and Chad had always been surrounded by girls, it was Zeke who had somehow managed to be the only one of them to get laid. Jason was certain that if it wasn't for his status as member of the varsity basketball team, he would receive no attention at all.

He got along with the cheerleaders all right, but generally things never surpassed the general chit chat stage. They would find some other guy to fulfill other 'needs', leaving Jason to his own devices. He'd spent a good two hours talking with Liana - thinking that maybe something would happen. The country club girls intimidated him; but there as something less confronting about the popular cheerleader. She was well known as being somewhat of a bicycle with various East High athletes. So Jason put in the hard yards.

Only to have Liana leave him to go and get a drink; meanwhile Jason went back into the house and discovered her in the arms of one of the members of the football team.

C'est la vie. What else would he expect from Liana?

But what he didn't expect was to wander out to the pool area and witness Kelsi in a passionate lip lock with one of the kitchen hands.

Kelsi.

His Kelsi.

Well she wasn't his Kelsi, he wasn't naive enough to believe that. He knew there was nothing official between them.

But that didn't dull the sharp pang of jealousy.

"J-C, what you doing?" he heard Zeke's voice from behind.

Jason couldn't tear his eyes away from the pair over on the other side of the pool. Zeke followed his friend's eye line.

"Oh..." Zeke said.

Jason turned to him. "Let's go do some shots. And then introduce me to the country club girls you befriended."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Troy and Gabriella had found their way into one of the many guest bedrooms in the Evans mansion. One with a lock on the door. Their kisses had been passionate, lustful, with little abandon. Gabriella pulled away from Troy, slightly breathlessly. He proceeded to trail a line of kisses along her jaw line and then running down her neck. She giggled as Troy suckled slightly on her neck. Undeterred, he continued to softly kiss, and then licked slightly before sucking again. Right as he hit the spot right near her ear, a slight whimper escaped from Gabriella's mouth. Troy now focused on this area, spurring Gabriella's whimpers. She was clutching onto Troy's upper arms as he continued his combination of softly sucking, biting and licking.

The tiny moans and whimpers escaping from Gabriella's mouth were rather arousing; and there was no control over various bodily functions. Here they were again in a situation where she HAD to know the affect she had upon him. Gabriella's hand reached over to caress his cheek slightly, moving him away from her neck and crashing her lips to his. She was now lying directly on top of him, kissing him insistently.

Troy pulled away from her slightly, his eyes boring into her. "Gabi..."

She read his mind. "Shut up. I don't care."

"But you know we could..."

"We could stop talking and keep making out," she cut in.

Troy smiled slightly. "Okay."

And keep making out they did.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

In the bedroom next door, the other resident couple were celebrating their newfound coupledom, the officiality of being boyfriend and girlfriend. The celebration took form in a toast over a tequila body shot; followed out by heated making out.

It was an interesting situation where prior to dating, Chad and Taylor had participated in activity generally reserved for people involved in a relationship. Chad didn't want to be presumptuous in thinking that just because they were together now, that Taylor would automatically want such activity to occur.

Luckily for Chad, the slightly inebriated Taylor was in no mood to allow such chivalry to continue. Her hands fumbled with his belt buckle.

"Is this thing glued together," she murmured, as Chad's kisses trailed along her jaw line.

"I'd hope not. Or I'd just get scissors and cut the damn thing off," Chad remarked.

Finally Taylor succeeded in the removal of the belt. Chad's hands were meanwhile fumbling to work out how exactly he was supposed to remove Taylor's dress. He was fumbling on the back, trying to find a zipper or a button of some description. Taylor brought her hand to meet his and guide it to where the zipper was along the side of the dress.

"Teamwork," Chad mumbled.

For all of his fumbling with the zipper on the dress; Chad had no problem unhooking Taylor's bra clasp. He didn't hold back from dropping his mouth to her breast, twirling his tongue and gently biting her nipple. Taylor's hands were clutching onto Chad's shoulders. It was when his right hand found its way up her inner thigh when her whimpers escalated into what were at first gentle moans, and increasingly louder moans.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile in the next room, Troy was doing everything within his willpower to NOT blow his load in his jeans. Making out with hot girlfriend was difficult enough under normal circumstances. Now that a direct reference had been made to her awareness and acceptance of his state - it just made the situation even more difficult.

Despite the grandeur of the Evans mansion, apparently, the walls were relatively thin.

"Oh my God… fuck… Chaaaad… oh my God…"

Gabriella quickly separated herself from Troy, her eyes widening at the sounds they could hear from next door.

"You don't think they're…" Troy said.

Gabriella shook her head. "No! No way!" she hissed. "Taylor wouldn't, not after one date."

"She's drank a bit," Troy remarked. "But Chad wouldn't take advantage of that."

"Oh my God!" Taylor's almost shriek could clearly be heard.

"I can't listen to this!" Gabriella said.

Troy was a little relieved that they had been interrupted. A part of him wanted to stay with her in his arms forever. The other part wanted to be pushed into the pool again. To relieve... issues.

Troy shook his head. "Me neither. Come on."

Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand and led her out of the bedroom. He then glanced down, realising his slight predicament.

"Why don't you go down and pick out a cocktail for us to make... I'll be right back," Troy suggested, kissing her softly.

The seemingly clueless Gabriella nodded happily and bound down the stairs. Leaving Troy to go to the bathroom. And sort out the situation.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Martha wandered about the party, trying to find a conversation to join in with. Eventually she gave up, standing in a corner and pretending to be very immersed in typing a text message. Rather, she was playing snake.

"Mar-tha," Ryan sing songed, approaching her.

Her face broke into a smile. "Where you been at? I've hardly seen you."

"Things to attend to. The part of host can be draining."

"Hence why I would never, ever host a party like this."

"Meh. Come on, we have to get the dance floor going and you know that you are my number 1 girl when it comes to boogeying on down."

She accepted his outstretched hand, smiling shyly. "You got it."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Gabriella and Troy wound up seated with some of the East High crew outside. Troy spied Jason and Zeke chatting with some of the country club girls - smirking over at them. The boys escaped to come and report back.

"Made some new friends?" Troy asked.

The boys simultaneously shrugged. "They're all right. A bit... dull," Jason said.

"Hot though. Sometimes dull can be dealt with."

Gabriella purposely ignored the conversation, instead preferring to join in with a conversation on the other side of the table. However she was quickly distracted by Chad and Taylor's return. Hand in hand, they strolled out to join up with the group.

"Taylor, come with me to get a drink," Gabriella said, dragging Taylor away.

Taylor motioned to the almost full cocktail glass in Gabriella's hand. "But you…"

"Come with me to get YOU a drink," Gabriella said.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Gabriella hissed at her friend, "What were you DOING up there?! Troy and I heard you… moaning… and we had to leave!"

"Why were you and Troy upstairs?" Taylor asked, raising her eyebrows.

Gabriella blushed. "Nothing like whatever YOU were doing!"

"We didn't have sex if that's what you're asking."

"Oh. Good."

"Why good?"

Gabriella stared at her. "Coz… coz you've been out with him ONCE!"

"Gabriella, I'm fine. I know what I'm doing."

Taylor quickly poured a vodka and orange juice. "Simplest cocktail ever. A screwdriver. Now come on, let's go back out."

Gabriella and Taylor wandered back out to join the group. Gabriella collapsed into a lawn chair. She tucked her free flowing hair behind her ear, tossing it over her shoulder, and then picked up her pina colada and sipping casually.

"What's that?" Jason asked Gabriella innocently.

"What's what?" Gabriella asked cluelessly.

Chad looked over and proceeded to snicker. Troy grinned brazenly, even with a little pride. He liked Gabriella wearing his mark, now adorning not only the necklace with his initial but a physical mark on her neck – albeit temporary. Taylor sighed, seeing it as her duty to inform her clueless friend, and yanked Gabriella back inside the house to find a mirror so she could see.

"Hook in," Zeke said, now that the boys were alone.

"It's not like that," Troy chided.

"It should be," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "I don't know what you're waiting for, man."

"Uh, Gabriella to be ready perhaps?" Troy suggested, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You haven't even talked about it properly!" Chad exclaimed. "For all you know she is ready!"

"What's with all this sudden pressure, I don't see any of you out there getting laid," Troy shot back.

"Excuse me, I have had sex!" Zeke said defensively.

"Like twice," Jason pointed out with a smirk.

"Well if I go keep tuning Cassie... Chrissie... fuck... whatever her name is... I could make it three," Zeke shot back.

"At least one of us has to be getting laid regularly," Chad said.

"What is this, American Pie?" Troy asked. "It's more likely to be you than me, with how you and Tay are going and whatever the fuck you get up to."

"Troy!!" Gabriella shrieked, running out into the backyard. "How could you do this to me? My MOM is going to see this!!"

Troy rolled his eyes. "Not if you wear your hair out. I was very considerate. See, I did it up quite high, right near your ear. Surely you can cover that. They didn't notice it for ages."

Chad laughed. "Yeah, that's why you did it there."

Troy caught her waist, pulling her down to sit on his lap. "I'm sorry baby but if it's any consolation… I know you liked it when I was doing it," he said softly into her ear, nipping at the spot once again.

Gabriella softened as she felt the tingle up her spine. "Okay maybe but… just… no marks next time!"

"Next time?"

A coy smile was on her face, and she tipped her cocktail glass back, taking a giant swig. "Next time," she repeated.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

After working with Martha to get the dance floor gonig, Ryan returned to his rounds. He was wandering around the party, sipping his cocktail casually. He was holding the little umbrella in his right hand, twirling it as he wandered. He found himself engaging in numerous conversations of small talk, but he felt obliged to move about the house. Partially it was his role as host to be available to all for conversation. And there was also the need to make sure everything remained under control.

He had planned the evening in stages, and organised music in categories to suit the particular stages of the evening. Chilled out and easy listening music as guests were arriving. Gradually becoming more intense, more vibrant. And as everyone was getting into the evening and feeling the 'buzz'', Ryan set up his dance room with Martha's assistance.

No Ryan Evans party would be complete without a room dedicated specifically to dancing. Darkened lighting, with only strobe lights, as well as a smoke machine, created an atmosphere imitating a miniature nightclub. He had selected a high energy, pulsing dance mix. It encouraged all sorts of moving and shaking and rubbing which in a public forum would be considered highly inappropriate.

Despite the semi innocence of their relationship, Ryan was not in the slightest bit surprised to check up on the dance area and see Troy and Gabriella, grinding in the corner.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Gabriella was more than a little tipsy. Troy was more than a lot tipsy. A few months earlier when an intoxicated Gabriella made 'advances' on Troy, he somehow found the inner strength to say no - knowing that a sober Gabriella would by no means be ready for such activity. However things were different. No direct conversation had been held. Technically, the activities they engaged in hadn't developed. They would make out a lot back then. They would make out a lot now. But there was a difference. Tongues were more rigorous, hands moved with greater freedom and abandon.

And now, she stood facing away from him, Troy's hands running up and down her sides as he trailed kisses along her neck. Her movement against him, her shimmying ass - the movement was direct. It was explicit. Troy reasoned with himself that surely she was aware of what she was doing. That by rubbing AGAINST his erection she was only intensifying the situation. Unless she really didn't know...

Chivalrous Troy who was petrified of 'pushing' won out, he always seemed to win the mental battles. Troy somehow pulled himself away from Gabriella.

"I'm going to the bathroom," he murmured into her ear.

She merely nodded and pecked a kiss against his cheek, before going over to join a few of the others who were dancing. Troy breathed a sigh of relief and made his escape into the kitchen. He poured himself a bourbon and coke that was more bourbon than coke and downing it all at once. He then let out a frustrated moan.

"What's wrong with you?" Zeke asked, coming into the room.

"Did you SEE what she was just doing to me?" Troy exclaimed.

"I did actually. I was in there with Cassie. You seemed to be having a good time."

"That's the fucking problem."

"Just go and wank then, and go back to her."

Troy glared at him. "Shut up."

"Danforth has a point you know," Zeke remarked.

"With what?"

"That you haven't really talked about it with her, so how would you know whether she's ready..."

"You saw her fucking flip out when she realised I'd given her a fucking hickey. As if she's ready for anything else. So give me an alternative."

"Wank more often?" Zeke suggested.

"I don't know if it is physically possible to wank MORE often," Troy groaned.

"Surely it's natural to have a conversation with her about this stuff. You're both 17. In a serious relationship. When there's grinding like that..."

Troy sighed. "Okay yes I think it is natural to at least talk about it. But how do I bring it up without sounding like I'm pressuring her?"

"Okay dude I'm only good with advice to a certain point. All I seem to do is get drunk and have sex at parties. I'm not good with the relationship advice."

"Thanks man, you're really useful."

Zeke shrugged, and held up the bottle of bourbon. "Another drink?"

Troy sighed. He was at the point where one more drink was likely to equal becoming completely wasted.

"Sure. Why the fuck not?"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**Author's Note -** Just a quick note re my decision with Ryan and his sexuality... I just want to acknowledge that obviously as a female I will never be able to completely totally thoroughly represent the emotional process that a teenage male coming to terms with his sexuality would be going through. I am not just plucking stuff out of thin air though, I'm somewhat of a fag hag, I've spent a lot of time around gay boys, both in high school when they were 'in' and struggling to come out, and in later years whilst becoming more comfortable with their sexuality. I'm going to use a lot of stuff that a friend of mine went through in my portrayal of Ryan because the two of them are scarily similar which is possibly a reason why I wound up coming to this decision. I'm glad that on the whole, you're happy with my depiction and even if you don't totally agree you are open to what I can make of it. Props to you all for your openmindedness.

If you leave a review with constructive/analytical commentary and are not signed in, or do not have a log in, pretty please leave your e-mail because I love to respond to this kind of stuff - it makes me a better author, being more in tune with what people think of my work!

So on that... Review? -Dani xo


	5. Chapter 5

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello from the girl currently in always raining Dublin - but to be in London again in just a couple of days. My time in Europe is drawing to a close... and with the dramas I am having changing my SE Asia flights, it looks like I will definitely be home by the end of this month. I am so excited to see my friends and my mum and my cat and to have all the time in the world to go on numerous sites related to this fandom and to actually read all of your stories and leave tonnes of reviews and to and reply to all the lovely reviews you all have been leaving me... yay! Anyway...

Props to Ayen who acts not only as a beta reader but as my PR agent - and in turn thank you to Audrey for taking Ayen's recommendation and picking another one of my stories to be the Fic of the Week over at Zaangels... squee! Hope you girls are having a fab time together :-)

Here is chapter 5 which is pretty blah but provides linkage to and set up for the upcoming school year...

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**Chapter 5**

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

For all four of the guys, the remainder of the evening was somewhat hazy.

Zeke's pursuit of Cassie from the country club seemed to pay off. The two disappeared upstairs in a laughing, kissing mess. When he woke up the following morning, she was gone - just a used condom on the night stand providing complete confirmation of the hazy memory.

Jason's pursuit of Bianca from the country club became rather fruitless. He spotted Kelsi, still entangled with Marty by the pool, and his distraction was evident to Bianca. The silver lining was that Kelsi and Marty had remained downstairs by the pool, instead of retreating upstairs. Jason woke up on the couch. Alone.

Chad's night was a haze of drinking, randomly running around and being stupid, and Taylor. Lots and lots of Taylor. Who didn't seem to mind in the slightest. And the couple awoke together in one of the bedrooms upstairs.

And as for Troy, there was also a haze of drinking, much drinking, and randomly running around and being stupid - in the hope of avoiding Gabriella. Except that she inevitably found him and he inevitably didn't have the strength to say no to the chocolate eyes pleading him to come dance again. What happened from there to when he woke up was relatively blank.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Gabriella awoke to the sound of Troy's snoring. She'd never pictured him to be a snorer; but after the amount of alcohol she'd witnessed him consume, it was hardly a surprise. Somehow, laying flat on his back, mouth slightly open - she found his snoring cute. She reached for her cell, squinting at the time. 9am. Reasonable time to wake up. She glanced over at Troy again, and this time noticed the tent that he had forged under the covers. She blushed, but somehow it had become a biological fact which bothered her less and less.

She wondered whether the day would come that she was so used to it that it would be as though Troy was her boyfriend with blue eyes and brown hair and be male and therefore get erections. That his biological reactions would be so normal that she wouldn't react in the slightest.

She quietly eased out of the bed, despite the fact that Troy was so out of it that he would possily remain oblivious to a marching band. Gabriella padded down the plush carpeted staircase and found Taylor, Kelsi, Chad and Martha all awake and assisting Ryan with the clean up.

"Morning," she said, her tiredness evident.

"Morning," they responded, their tiredness also evident.

Gabriella fell into motion with them, assigning herself the job of using the surface spray. Ryan could have just left it all for the maid to do. Evidence of the difference between the two Evans twins.

She went to spray over where Kelsi was collecting glass bottles by the pool.

"So what happened with Marty?" she asked quietly.

"We made out. That's all."

"I umm... I heard Jason was a bit upset about it," Gabriella said, biting her lip.

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

Kelsi shrugged. "You were right. I can't just sit around waiting for him."

Gabriella nodded. "That's a good attitude to have."

When Jason appeared minutes later and made eye contact with Kelsi - her appearance of feeling confident crumbled. She saw the hurt and betrayal in his eyes. He turned and walked away.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The sound of thumping music drew Troy awake from his drunken slumber. He groaned, barely able to open his eyes. His eyes fluttered open, and he saw a freshly showered and changed Gabriella pottering around in the bedroom. The sunlight was too harsh, and his throbbing head wasn't at all happy that he had woken up. He let out a slight grunt.

"Oh, did I wake you?" Gabriella asked, filled with concern.

Troy shook his head. "What is that racket at the crack of dawn?"

"It's almost midday," she said, sounding amused. "And I think it's coming from Sharpay's room."

"Oh. Is everyone still here?"

"Just about everyone has cleared out. Just our little crew remaining. You feel okay?"

"Not sick. Just a headache. Very very bad headache."

"I'll get you some aspirin," Gabriella said, and disappeared.

Troy lay still with his eyes closed. If he remained still, the headache dulled somewhat. Gabriella returned with a bottle of water and two aspirin, handing them over. Troy gratefully took the items, and quickly downed the aspirin.

"Do you wanna sleep some more?" Gabriella asked.

"Nah. I'll be good once these kick in."

Troy was somewhat nervous about something. "Uh... I kinda... don't remember a lot from the latter part of last night. Uh... I didn't... umm... try to do... umm with..."

He couldn't quite say the words. He sent the telepathic message to his girlfriend '_'so you got me rather horny with your little rubbing dance, and when I am drunk and horny I might have wanted to act upon the horniness..."_

Somehow, Gabriella understood his garbled sort of question. "As always, you are a perfect gentleman," she responded quietly with a smile.

Gabriella sat on the bed beside him. He reached up, grazing his hand over the purplish mark that remained on her neck.

"Sorry... looks like I got a bit carried away," Troy said.

Gabriella blushed slightly. "It's okay... umm... it was nice."

Their eyes locked. There had been a definite shift in the relationship. A shift without a label. A shift which had yet to be discussed. A shift that they were avoiding discussion of. But nevertheless, their had been a shift.

"Anyway I'm going downstairs. I brought your backpack up here, it's just at the foot of the bed. And there's a towel here if you want to shower."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Troy emerged about twenty minutes later, freshly showered and feeling a lot better - not brilliant, but better.

"Morning all... or afternoon is it?"

Ryan glanced at the clock. "Afternoon. Just. You want food?"

Troy winced. "Nah. I'll pass. I'll be on the water I think." He glanced at Kelsi who was sitting quietly on the corner. "Hey, didn't see you much last night."

Open mouth, insert foot.

Between being wrapped up with Gabriella, being drunk, and then sleeping all morning - he'd missed the gossip on Kelsi's hook up with Marty. He'd missed the uncomfortable moment with Jason and Kelsi.

"Yeah. I was around," Kelsi said elusively, not looking up.

Jason was sitting on the opposite side of the room, arms folded, staring blankly at the wall.

Ryan cleared his throat. "So. Who wants to put on a movie?"

"Yes," Martha said quickly. "Let's do that."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

They watched a film and then proceeded to continue lounging around the Evans household - their new favourite hang out. Ryan was fiddling on his laptop as they randomly chatted and consumed piles of food.

"East High appear to have embraced modern technology. They have e-mailed our timetables to us," he informed the group.

The next five minutes were an excited flurry of each person logging into their e-mail account on the computer in the office, and printing their timetables. After examining each of their own individually, the comparisons began.

"Three classes together Troy… And homeroom," Gabriella said happily.

"You do know that I am going to be a major distraction for you," Troy teased, kissing her gently.

"That, or I will act as a mechanism for you to gain focus," Gabriella suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh good, you're in my English literature class!" Ryan said, looking at Gabriella's timetable. "And Chad – we have algebra and chem together… and history… "

"Good thing we talk to each other now," Chad said wryly.

Taylor had snatched Gabriella's timetable away from Troy. "Physics… okay I need to find a new lab partner there since I'll have lost Gabriella to Troy…"

"Maybe we can have a lab trio?" Gabriella suggested hopefully.

"Look I'm in your physics class," Martha pointed out.

"Oh yes. Excellent. Problem solved. Gabriella can tutor the jock while I get to actually do well."

"I am RIGHT HERE Tay," Troy said witheringly.

"And we have calculus of course… and drama… Hang on… why aren't I in your lit class?" Taylor said, clearly disappointed.

"This here is more interesting Tay… you're not in any of our spares," Chad remarked.

"Huh?"

"Well on Thursday afternoon when seniors finish at lunch we do. But your other free periods, they aren't the same as ours. See?"

"That must be a mistake," Gabriella said, peering over at Taylor's. "Oh. There's only one class for global studies – when our spares are. And also only one environmental science class – which is when Ryan and I have lit. That's why."

"Your schedule is off the hook Tay!" Troy exclaimed, looking at it. "Your Tuesday and Wednesday free period is last! So you get to leave early! Plus on Thursday when we all have fifth and sixth off."

"Yeah, it's great, I get to miss out on hanging out with everyone," Taylor grumbled.

"There will be no 'hanging out', free periods should be used for studying," Gabriella said firmly.

Troy and Chad glanced at each other. "Studying… practice… that's all the same isn't it?" Chad queried.

"Studying," Gabriella said firmly. "Especially for you Troy, with all of these courses, you'll have to get settled into a routine straight off or you'll end up behind again."

"I don't know why you convinced me to take more advanced courses. It makes no sense when I haven't already been taking them," Troy grumbled. "I very strategically already did three years of math so I wouldn't have to do it this year. If I fail trigonometry…"

"You won't fail trigonometry. I will make sure of it. Besides, we're both doing physics and you need to do either trig or precalculus to be doing physics."

"Yeah, remind me why I'm doing physics?"

"Because you did brilliantly in physical chemistry. And then you had to pick between Chem 2 and physics. And I'll be in physics."

Troy picked up Jason's schedule. "Dude, you have the most piss easy schedule I've ever seen!"

Jason grinned. "I know."

"Computer studies, drama, film and television AND PE? All in the one year?" Taylor asked incredulously, looking at Jason's timetable.

"Check mine out also. Instead of film and television, I do hospitality," Zeke said proudly, showing them his schedule.

"How did you rig this?" Ryan asked in amazement. "I thought mine was light having both theatre and dance."

Martha and Kelsi both nodded in agreement; with Kelsi enrolled in music and theatre; and Martha in dance and theatre.

"Well, in sophomore year these bludgers were taking finger painting class as an elective," Jason said, referring to Troy and Chad and their art class. "And meanwhile I got ahead in my social science requirement."

"And I got ahead in my science subjects," Zeke added.

"So now we both only had to do a math and an English course," Jason finished explaining.

"You're telling me that this BAKING thing has been going on since SOPHOMORE year?" Chad asked Zeke incredulously.

"Middle school actually. I really liked home economics," Zeke replied casually.

"I'm so jealous," Troy said enviously.

"You could so easily be in our computer apps class… you don't need to Economics do you?" Zeke said.

"No. I finished my social science requirements also. And that was the plan, to do computer apps," Troy grumbled.

"You don't have to do economics," Gabriella said, looking a little hurt. "I just thought that you would enjoy it."

"I don't even know what it is!" Troy said.

"It's like a business course sort of. Half the year is business economics, looking at supply and demand and the stock market and real estate. And the other half is like social economics, looking at the environment and…" Gabriella trailed off, seeing Troy looking a little blank. "I'm just trying to help you. You're the one who all of a sudden has started freaking out about college and getting a scholarship and stuff. Computer applications screams, I just want to bludge my way through."

She glanced at Zeke and Jason. "No offense."

"None taken," Jason said cheerfully.

Troy sighed. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like I didn't want to do it. I know you're right and it was a very good suggestion."

"Aren't you doing advanced theatre with us?" Gabriella asked Ryan incredulously, as she looked over his timetable.

Ryan shrugged. "To be honest, there's isn't much that we will study that I haven't already done in a course outside of school. And the technical theatre course looks really exciting."

A little "ruff" noise was heard from just around the corner.

"Boi?" Ryan called.

Sharpay stepped into the lounge area, clutching onto her dog.

"You didn't tell ME you weren't gonna do advanced theatre," Sharpay said accusingly to Ryan.

"Shar! I didn't even know you were here, I thought you were out with Leah and the girls," Ryan said.

"Good morning Sharpay!" Zeke said cheerily.

It seemed that even with his decision to 'move on' the evening before - that old habits were bound to kick in.

"It's afternoon," Sharpay snapped at him, then turned back to Ryan.

"What, am I not allowed to be in my own home? And don't change the subject," Sharpay said snippily. "Why aren't you doing advanced theatre?"

Ryan sighed. "Because I wanted to take technical theatre, seeing as I'm interested in directing."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you'd be weird about it."

"I am not being WEIRD about it," Sharpay said defensively. "Just because we lived in the same womb together for nine months, doesn't mean we're gonna be together forever. I know that. So whatever. I don't care."

Sharpay snatched up her dog who was sitting primly by her feet, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

The room was silent. Ryan looked like he had been slapped in the face. Chad felt the need to lighten the mood. He picked up Gabriella's timetable.

"Creative writing, huh?"

Gabriella nodded, sensing his trying to change the subject. "Yeah. I enjoy writing. And my transcript is fairly math and science heavy so I figured it would be good for me. And... it's challenging. Writing is subjective, you know. There is no formula to just apply and automatically do well."

"Because calculus and physics and English literature aren't challenging enough for the genius," Chad remarked.

"Don't call me that," Gabriella said softly.

"I wish I could write," Jason said.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Oh?"

"For my movie," he explained. "I've spent all my spare time over summer working out my budget and what materials I'll need and the kinds of actors I'll want. But the script... well... it sucks. I want to DIRECT not SCREENWRITE."

"Would you like me to look it over?" Gabriella offered. "I'm no writer but... maybe I could help? Be an objective eye?"

"Would you?" Jason asked incredulously. "Really? I mean... it's not very long. It's only a short film."

Gabriella smiled, amused at his excitement at the notion. "Sure I'd love to. Really truly."

Immediately, Jason was fishing around in his backpack and emerged with a copy of the script, handing it over to her.

"Be as picky as you like. And take as long as you like. Whatever."

Gabriella flipped through. "Umm... I'll probably need... two days? Is that too long? I have plans with Troy tonight and..."

"Two days is fine!" Jason exclaimed. "Two WEEKS would be fine. You actually think you'll only need two days? Don't pressure yourself or anything. I mean..."

"I read fast," Gabriella said with a smile.

"She read the last Harry Potter book in like an hour," Troy said.

Jason looked at Gabriella in awe. "We just keep learning more and more about you, don't we?"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

It seemed that noone wanted to leave. Between work and various social events, they had spent hours beyond hours of time together over the last few weeks. But they were all happy to remain at the Evans house. And Ryan was more than happy to have them remain in his presence.

"Did you girls still want to go shopping sometime this week?" Martha asked Taylor and Gabriella.

The girls nodded enthusiastically.

"Shopping?" Ryan said, perking up.

"At the office supplies warehouse on the west side," Taylor elaborated. "For back to school stationery."

"Oh," Ryan said, dejectedly, his visions of new shirts and hats disappearing.

"Summer is really almost over, isn't it?" Zeke said.

"Almost. Not quite," Chad said.

"Normally I'm really sad when summer is almost over. But this year, I'm kinda excited," Kelsi confessed.

"Excited for school?" Jason asked dubiously.

The group silently noted that these were the first direct words he'd spoken to her all day.

"Excited because... this year it's going to be different. Every day is monumental. Like... this is our LAST time lamenting the end of the summer holidays. Next week will be our LAST first day of school. We've got all these seminars about college and careers... don't you just feel the buzz?"

"Yup. The buzz of back to back championships," Chad declared. "Coach Bolton has us four in training from TOMORROW. BEFORE school goes back."

"You four will collaboratively be the leaders of the team. You need to be in shape to act as role models for the rest of the youngins who will step up," Jason said, imitating Coach Bolton.

Troy looked at Jason, eyes boggling. "That impression was frighteningly brilliant dude. Never, ever again do I want to hear you do that or I may have nightmares."

Jason grinned. "Excellent. A tool I can use against you when you piss me off."

"You think you've got it tough? I haven't STOPPED training all summer."

"You love it," Chad said. "Don't pretend you hate it. Even if you didn't have your dad slave driving you, you'd just slave drive yourself."

Troy shrugged. "I guess. I mean it's not just about back to back championships. It's about, you know, like, life."

"See. This is what I was talking about!" Kelsi said triumphantly. "The buzz. It's different this year."

They all fell silent, gazing at the floor, at the ceiling, at the wall across the room.

"Anyway. Whose up for some basketball?" Chad asked, breaking the silence.

Zeke jumped to his feet. "Me."

"And me," Jason piped up.

Troy squeezed Gabriella's leg. "You mind?"

She smiled, rolling her eyes. "I have my girls, it's fine."

Ryan cleared his throat. "My girls and Ryan," she corrected herself.

"Okay. We have to get ready for our first practice or Coach will grill our asses," Zeke declared.

"What team?" Chad shouted.

"WILDCATS!"

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**Review? Pretty please with strawberries (or whatever fruit you like) on top :-) xo**


	6. Chapter 6

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello from London - my final stop on the European leg of the trip. Actually, I will be home much sooner than anticipated, having just learnt that changing my flights is going to be more hassle than its worth and so I will be home on July 20. Not far away at all, huh? Good news is that I won't have any excuses to not be writing crazily! Well... I might spend a lot of time consuming alcoholic beverages with my friends (note that I am of legal drinking age)... but surely they will allow me to feed my obsession once in a while! Anyway... I post this just as I am about to go and get ready to see the Hairspray musical. I saw it my first time in London about a month ago but loved it so much that I wanted to go back when it was the real full cast, instead of the understudy Link with the blonde hair which just isn't Link Larkin! And tomorrow night I am going to see the HSM stage show... I saw a local production of it at home and was impressed so the real version should be even better.

Anyway... since I got such awesome lovely reviews for what I thought was really a bit of a blah chapter, here is the next one which I dedicate to every single person who is reading this story... aww!

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**Chapter 6**

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The first big change of the year was evident before even arriving at school. Troy, for the first time ever – was driving to school. He didn't have to go with his dad, or go on the stupid yellow school bus. He did however become allocated as the role of 'chauffeur.' Gabriella, of course, he was going to pick up. That came as a part of the novelty of having a car. Being able to pick up your girlfriend. Chad was quick to shotgun his seat. And now wherever Chad went - Taylor went. Which Gabriella was perfectly happy with.

Troy picked up Chad first; followed by Taylor - at which point he had to wait for Chad to go and ring the doorbell and then watch the two make out on the doorstep. Troy honked the horn impatiently. Last but not least, he went to Gabriella's. Chad had taken a seat in the front, and as Troy got out to go to Gabriella's door he looked at Chad pointedly. Chad rolled his eyes but wordlessly got out, heading around to sit in the back next to Taylor.

"I love a new school year, don't you?" Taylor asked, clearly sounding genuinely excited.

"Yeah sure end of summer is great Tay," Chad humoured her.

"Kelsi was right last weekend though. Don't you come back feeling refreshed and motivated though? It's like there is this excited vibe. All the clubs and activities sign ups, you get a new timetable, new teachers. It's like a fresh start," Taylor chattered on.

"I'm petrified about this year," Troy confessed. "Did you read the letter they sent us? First week back – and already we have no classes this Friday to attend a careers fair and seminars about college applications and shit."

"That's a good thing Bolton. No class for a whole day," Chad said.

"It's a silver lining I suppose, yeah."

The drive from their neighbourhood to East High wasn't long and within minutes Troy was pulling up in the student parking lot for the first time.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this moment?" Chad said. "We should stop, pause and savour this."

"Savour what?" Troy asked.

"We are seniors. The home stretch is here. In nine months we'll be graduating. At school assemblies we get to sit at the back. We can go OFF CAMPUS for lunch. We have a half day on Thursdays."

"Five minutes ago you were humouring Tay when she said that she loves the new school year," Gabriella observed.

"Anyway, let's go in," Taylor said briskly. They had prearranged to meet everyone out the front and by her watch, they were late.

As they headed from the parking lot, Chad wasn't finished with his rant. "Troy, you are now OFFICIALLY the big man on campus. I mean, last year, you kinda were but technically you had to compete with Lucas."

"Who's Lucas?" Gabriella asked.

"Last year's football captain," Chad answered. "See so since Troy is now a senior, there's no competition."

Troy snorted. "Gee Chad, and you're my best friend. You're the best friend of the 'big man on campus', don't you feel special? We now rule the school." Sarcasm was dripping from his voice.

Chad motioned towards some bubbly blonde girls - who from their clueless stares at the campus map, were rather obviously freshman.

"Ten bucks says they try out for the cheer squad," Chad said.

"And as the 'big men on campus' shouldn't you two go and greet them?" Taylor said, rolling her eyes.

A couple of the were sophmores now juniors from the cheerleading squad walked past.

"Hi Troy!" they chirped simultaneously.

"How was your summer?" one of them asked.

Troy made a point of putting his arm around Gabriella's shoulder. "Really great actually. Made some cash, worked on my tan, played basketball and of course spent time with my lovely girlfriend here."

They smiled, tight lipped, and continued on their way. Gabriella waved at the rest of their group who were hanging out on the front steps - with the new addition of Ryan in the mix.

"Wouldn't you think that Bolton having a car would mean you lot would be here FIRST?" Zeke remarked.

"Yeah you would. And I should be able to roll out of bed five minutes before school. Not have to get up a freaking HOUR early to pick all of them up," Troy grumbled good naturedly.

"Dude, you drive PAST my house on your way coming here," Chad said witheringly.

"Yeah, and I sat outside your house honking for five minutes before you came out."

"Maybe if you'd gotten your lazy ass out of the car and knocked on my door..."

"You're the one who said to honk and you'd come out!" Troy exclaimed.

"They're like a bitter old married couple," Kelsi whispered to Martha in fascination.

"Hey, did I tell you I picked up a Saturday shift at the grocery store? So in about a month I should have enough cash to buy my own wheels," Chad said proudly.

"Good. Then you can pick up Taylor and I won't have to rush," Troy said.

"You got up early to go for a run anyway," Gabriella said in amusement.

"Ssshhh you're meant to be on MY side!" Troy hissed.

Surprisingly it was Troy who was rushing the group inside.

"But I have to go and..." Zeke began to say.

"Then go. I'm going to homeroom," Troy said impatiently.

While Kelsi, Martha, Zeke and Jason peeled off to accomplish various errands, the rest of the group headed directly to homeroom per Troy's prodding. However it wasn't the notion of homeroom itself that excited him, he had ulterior motives. He rushed into the classroom, pleased to see that only one other student had arrived and he had chosen a desk in the front row on the left. Troy careened to the back row, plonking himself down and then motioning to the desk next to him.

"Gabi…" he called in a singsong voice.

The concept of not having to sit in a position where he had to swivel around to look at her was novel. She quickly sat beside him. Chad took the spot place in front of Troy.

"Wow, this is different. Now you have to poke me in the back with a ruler," Chad remarked.

Taylor sat beside Chad and in front of Gabriella. Ryan plonked down beside Gabriella.

"Where's Sharpay, anyway?" Gabriella asked.

"She was still blow drying her hair when I left," Ryan said. "I think she was annoyed when I said I was gonna drive my own car and not come with her."

Martha, Jason and Zeke filed in - having detoured to their lockers. Martha glanced around the room hesitantly. Ryan smiled at her warmly.

"Hey, come sit here," he said, motioning to the desk beside her. She smiled gratefully and came and sat beside him.

Leaving Zeke to take the seat next to Taylor, and then Jason the seat beside Zeke.

"Like how they've ditched us for the girls?" Jason whispered.

"We have not DITCHED you," Chad said. Jason's whisper wasn't very effective.

It was Sharpay who was next to arrive. She took one look at Ryan's newfound home at the back with the Wildcats and rolled her eyes, selecting her own seat and proceeding to pull out her compact to check her make up. Zeke looked a little disappointed that she had chosen a seat in the front row on the other side of the room from him. Jason rolled his eyes, noticing his friends reaction. When Monica and Liana entered a minute later, he saw an opportunity.

"Hey girls, come sit here," Jason called out.

Monica of course chose the seat directly in front of Zeke. "Seniors finally, hey?"

He smiled at her. "Finally. I can smell the gown and cap already."

Kelsi entered the room a minute later, looking flustered.

"Why do girls take so long to pee?" she complained. "I didn't even have time to go to my locker. Now I have to carry around all my new books til fourth period when I'm over in that direction."

Gabriella giggled. "I know hey. It's ridiculous."

Kelsi paused for a moment, contemplating. Back row beside Martha... Second to back row next to Jason... She chose Jason, who glanced at her sideways. The two hadn't talked properly since before the party at Ryan's - and Kelsi's random make out with Marty.

"Hey, so did Gabriella look over your script?" she asked.

Jason nodded, trying to appear aloof. "Yeah. I'm so stoked with it, she did such an awesome job."

"Did you still want me to work out a score for you?"

"Did you still want to?" Jason said, slightly surprised. "You uh... you might be a bit busy now."

"Huh?"

"Well... if you're seeing Marty?" he ventured.

Kelsi laughed. "SEEING Marty? We didn't even exchange phone numbers."

"Oh... OH." Suddenly, the tension lifted.

"Anyway... the score? I'd really love to work on it with you."

Jason smiled. "Okay. That would be really cool."

Meanwhile, Ryan and Gabriella were in their own conversation.

"Hey, can I look at your time table again? I changed one of my classes so I need to make sure I still have the same classes with everyone."

"What did you switch?" Gabriella asked.

"Uh, I dropped technical drama to do advanced acting," Ryan said casually. "Since everyone else is doing it. I figured why break the trend."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows, looking over in Sharpay's direction. "Everyone else is doing it? You mean, for her?"

Ryan shrugged. "I guess. Uh… I'll talk to you about it later."

Miss Darbus entered the room just a minute before the bell. There was a mixed reaction from the students. Despite Miss Darbus' tendency for strict discliplinary restrictions - they had become accustomed to her strange ways. And they had even grown upon them. Amidst the calamity that was bound to lie ahead with senior year, there was something comforting about being able to maintain the same group of students and the same teacher within their homeroom.

"Good morning everyone, and welcome to the first day of your final year of your secondary education. Assuming you all pass and none of you have to return to repeat your senior year next year."

Troy snorted. What a motivational way to begin the day.

"As you can imagine my list of announcements here is rather long so let's get right to it. Need I remind you that cell phones are completely unacceptable in my classroom and severe penalties will result should their presence be made known."

She wasn't exaggerating. There were four pages of announcements. Just about every sport and school activity was running a try out or advertising a sign up of some description. There were official school notices reminding about policies about cell phones, parking, dress codes.

"Varsity basketball try outs will be held next Monday after school; those interested in trying out must sign up by this Friday with Coach Bolton," Miss Darbus read.

"Hey Troy, wanna try out for the basketball team? I reckon it would be SUPER COOL!" Chad whispered loudly, doing an impressive imitation of an excited freshman with a rose coloured glasses vision of actually making the varsity team.

The boys all snickered.

"Mr Danforth. It is Day 1 of the year and already you are testing my patience. There is a spare seat up here in the front row. Do I need to separate you from the rest of your little posse already?"

Chad cleared his throat. "Uh, no Miss Darbus your majesty, that will not be necessary."

"Excellent. Then I shall continue. Next week during fifth period Thursday - which you normally have as a part of your half day off - we require you to report to your homerooms. You will have a guest teacher to cover some basic health and biological science concepts. We require this parental permission slip to be completed and brought back before next week."

The students began to snicker, realising what was being referred to. Gabriella however was clueless, and scribbled a note to Taylor.

_Why is everyone laughing?_

**It's for sex ed.**

Gabriella's eyes widened.

_They do sex ed in the classroom at East High? With everyone here? Co educationally?_

**Yeah. It's stupid really, it's the same stuff every year, at the beginning of the school year. They have to do it according to district school regulations. Why?**

_I've never been to a co-ed sex ed class. Actually I only ever did one at school… and I was at a girls school that semester. Is it weird?_

**It's all right. We don't talk about it or anything! It's funny when they talk about wanking, all the boys go all red.**

The girls stopped writing their notes when the next announcement became of slight more interest.

"We also have our new student council and class president elections approaching. Nominations are required to be submitted by this Friday at the end of lunch period. Information about the requirements, application process, elections and so forth can be obtained from the office."

Gabriella couldn't help but notice Ryan sit up a little straighter, his ears perking up with interest.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Lunch time was quick to roll around. The Wildcat crew beelined for their section at the back of the cafeteria, consisting of two tables and a section of the cafeteria podium. Between the core group of 9 and the randoms who floated in and out, the additional space was a definite necessity. A few of the cheerleaders from the previous year had come by to greet the boys - having spent their summer away with parents and not seen them all summer.

"Hey Troy, were you gonna run for class president?" Liana asked flirtatiously.

Troy laughed. "God no. Sounds like the job from hell. It's hard enough organising the basketball guys, let alone being in charge of a whole lot of other stuff. Plus, the job is like, for life. You're put in charge of the alumni database, and organising class reunions and stuff."

Liana looked a little disappointed. "I guess you'll be too busy being basketball captain, anyway."

"Hey, we haven't even had tryouts yet, I might not even get captain."

The other guys snorted, all knowing that the notion of Troy NOT getting captain again was ridiculous.

"Lee-lee!" a girl shrieked from the other side of the cafeteria.

Liana turned around, shrieking, and abandoned the group. Troy rolled his eyes. "Thank God she's gone."

"Hush now, be nice. They dedicate their whole lives to supporting your team," Taylor pointed out.

"Why are you defending the cheerleaders?" Troy asked.

"Anyway, she brought up an interesting topic. You know who I heard is gonna run for class president? Stevie Windsor," Chad informed the group.

"Who is Stevie Windsor?" Gabriella asked.

"He's that weird guy who wears a three piece suit every day. He was hall monitor all the way through elementary school," Jason told her.

"You know the guy, the one that was staring at you in pre calc last year, remember? His hobby is following rules," Taylor added.

"Oohhh him. He is a bit strange."

"Staring at you?" Troy asked, pretending to sound jealous.

"If this is the guy I think you're talking about then I think you can drop the macho jealousy act Troy," Gabriella said with a giggle.

"That guy can NOT be class president. It's a role about creating school spirit and organising things. No one would listen to a thing he says," Taylor said.

"You should do it," Zeke suggested to Taylor. "You could organise stuff. You're, like, Miss Organisation."

"Organisation perhaps. But school spirit? Me? Sorry guys, I support school activities purely because I participate in them. But do you really see me organising a pep rally or organising decorations for the Winter Ball? Go team go," she said sarcastically as the others laughed. "Gabriella would be better than me."

"Doesn't the class president have to make heaps of speeches and stuff? I don't know… Plus I don't think I'd be good at ordering people around. Although I do have lots of ideas about how we could improve activities. You know I think would be perfect though?" Gabriella said thoughtfully.

"Perfect for what?" a voice said from behind.

They looked around to see Ryan Evans taking a seat next to Chad.

"Speak of the devil," Gabriella said.

"Hey Ryan!" Taylor said cheerfully.

"Sup man," Chad greeted him.

"Don't you agree?" Gabriella asked, looking to Taylor for back up.

"I think you could be right," Taylor said slowly, a smile forming on her face.

"Can I be let in on this?" Ryan asked suspiciously.

"How would you feel if I nominated you for class president?" Gabriella asked, crossing her fingers.

Ryan's eyes boggled. "You're crazy Gabriella."

"Why am I crazy? The class president needs to be someone with enthusiasm, with creativity, who can come up with fresh ideas, who can organise people to do stuff. You showed us over summer at the talent show that the guy for that is you!"

"Class president is a popularity contest Gabriella," Ryan said matter of factly. "Did you hear who else is running? Dylan Marsters."

Gabriella paused. "Okay, have I met no one here? I don't know who he is."

"Yeah you do. Dylan Marsters is the hot, rich guy who drives up in his convertible. His dad is a hot shot executive at a record company. He's been pitching bands who he could get to gig at our Prom if people vote for him," Ryan said.

"Oh really? Like who?" Chad asked, sounding interested.

"I heard that he had connections with My Chemical Romance," Jason said.

"And his running mate is Julia Swanson," Ryan added.

Gabriella narrowed her eyes. She was familiar with Julia - the embodiment of the negative stereotype of a cheerleader.

"She's hot. The football team love her," Zeke said.

"Sucky sucky," Jason said under his breath.

The boys all exchanged smirks. There were rumours galore about the events which occured after football games in the locker room last season.

"Just the football team?" Kelsi asked with a slight smile, also being aware of rumours. Zeke looked away uncomfortably, the other guys snickering.

Gabriella ignored all of this. "So what? East High is changing. People are growing up, they're realising that there is more to life than being cool. Especially for something as important as this," Gabriella insisted.

"Oh my sweet optimistic friend. This isn't an after school special sister," Taylor said. "This is the real world."

"Ryan, are you interested in being class president?" Gabriella asked.

"Well yeah, I think it would be awesome. You know I wanted to start doing different school activities. And I'd be good at it. But to be honest with you, I don't handle rejection well so I don't particularly feel like putting my guts into being elected and losing."

"You're being so negative! If there's one thing I've learnt here at East High it's that you should go for the things you really want," Gabriella said.

Ryan looked deep in thought.

"Unless…"

"And here we have it, an Evans brainwave," Chad announced.

"Gabriella – would you be my running mate?"

"Me?" Gabriella asked incredulously. "Why me? I don't know anything about student politics. I don't even know what a running mate is."

"You'd be like vice president, but you don't really have to do anything. Your role would be more with the campaigning."

"That's perfect," Taylor exclaimed.

"I'm still at, why me? I haven't even been at East High for a year."

"Think about it. You're the girl that everyone wants to be."

"I am?"

"You're dating the coolest guy in school. The girls want to be you, and the guys want to be Troy so they can be with you. You're smart – we get the intellectuals. You'll get all of the drama club, even my sister. She and Julia Swanson have hated each other for years - something about a crayon in kindergarten and it went from there. And I think you're the only person who could get some of the cheerleaders and their groupies to swing their votes away from Julia to your way, you're tight with Paula aren't you? And she has a LOT of influence over the other girls. But you're also down to earth, you inspire everyone – you reach out to the every day people. You're well organised, you would have great ideas."

"You're forgetting the most important thing Evans," Chad said.

"What's that?"

"Well… if you don't mind me saying so. Gabriella is hot. She reaches out to the every day man. Get her campaigning wearing a little dress or perhaps a bikini even..."

"I mind you saying so," Troy said, a little disgusted at Chad's implication.

Gabriella ignored Chad's comment. "I don't know. I think you would be so amazing in this job Ryan, and I know you would love it. I don't want to ruin your chances of winning."

"If anything if you don't help me out then you'll be hurting my chances of winning," Ryan said, trying to guilt her into it.

Gabriella sighed and turned to Troy. "What do you think about all this?"

He paused. "I'm biased babe. I think you're amazing. But I'll try to be objective. So. I won't dispute that you are hot, although I do object to the flaunting yourself in a bikini to get votes."

"Good because I wouldn't do that anyway. But the rest?"

Troy thought. "I agree that now is the time when a team like you and Ryan could actually maybe take this on and maybe win it. He's right, you do have the presence to reach out to lots of different people which is probably the best strategy to win one of these campaigns. But the question is – do you want to do it? I mean, it'll take up a bit of your time."

Ryan butted in. "Not really. I mean, for the next two weeks yeah but after that… if we won… it's mainly the president who does the work. The council meets like once a month. And anyway, a lot of it is just organisation which I KNOW you could do well."

"But the ordering people around..."

"It's not ordering. It's delegating. And to people who volunteer to be on the student council," Ryan pointed out.

"You know a lot about this process for someone who apparantley had little interest in running," Kelsi observed.

Gabriella smiled slightly, having known that Ryan had been interested in it all along. But what had she gotten herself into...

"It'll look good on your college application," Taylor pointed out to Gabriella.

Ryan flashed Taylor a thank you smile, knowing that anything that looked good on a college application was going to be appealing to his academically minded friend. Gabriella appeared deep in contemplation.

"Let's get the information package thing and go from there," she finally said.

"That's as good as a yes, isn't it?" Ryan asked excitedly.

"NO. It's not. It's exactly what I said."

Ryan opened his backpack. "Okay well seeing as I just so happen to already have the information package..."

"Told you you wanted to run," Gabriella said smugly.

"I'll only do it with you though." Gabriella sighed. Ryan flashed her a pleading smile. "No pressure or anything."

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**Pretty please review... go on you know you wanna! :-) xo**


	7. Chapter 7

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I went to the HSM stage show in London the other night and came out and the giant cardboard cut out movie poster of HSM3: Senior Year was in the foyer. Not the jump in the red graduation robe poster but the one where they're all looking gorgeous and glam in prom outfits. Whilst the little girls were shrieking and having their photographs taken in front of Gabriella and Sharpay (They were fighting to get in front of them) I'm thinking, umm, HELLO look at how LICKABLE Zac looks?? It's like my dream come true. I love men in suits and I love Zac... (Do you think he's gonna come to Australia for promo again? OH MY GOD I could go to the Australian premiere! And since I'll be taller than all the other people there I will be able to see!) I had to patiently wait for my turn to take a photo of the damn thing. Apparantley its in my local cinema at home (I've been told) so maybe when I get home I'll go and get a photo of me frotting it or something...

ANYWAY.

So here's the latest chapter... fairly short and simple but I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 7**

**… … … … … … … … … … … … … …**

Troy was pacing around in the hallway. His dad was in the living room, watching the news, while his mom had ducked out to the grocery store quickly. It was the opportune time to approach his father to sign the stupid 'health science' form - however it was a coversation he was avoiding; a conversation that no part of him wanted to participate in. Every year, East High would predictably bring in the substitute teacher to do the embarrassing sessions of compulsory hell. And every year, Jack Bolton would use the opportunity as a platform to sit down and initiate a 'birds and bees' talk with his son.

This year was different though. Every other year, Troy could very easily just say, "Dad, I don't even have a girlfriend" and shut it down fairly quickly. This year that wouldn't work. He couldn't even pretend that he wasn't serious about Gabriella because that was obviously transparent. Troy was crazy about Gabriella.

Troy sighed. He had all week. He bound up the stairs, shoving the form back into his notebook, deciding that it could be done at a later date. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow. He jumped, a knock sounding at his door.

"Yeah?"

Jack opened the door, stepping into the room. He had not been oblivious to Troy's pacing and when his son hadn't been looking he had swivelled around and observed the standard pink form he had been clutching.

"So, where's the form?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Uh, what form?" Troy asked, playing dumb.

"Troy, sometimes I think you forget that I work at your high school and therefore I know things that go on. The sex education form."

"Oh. Right. That. I uh… totally forgot about it."

Troy produced it from his notebook, handing it over for Jack to scribble his signature onto.

"Trying to bypass the conversation, huh?" Jack remarked.

Troy shrugged. "Didn't work, obviously."

"I think it's good for you to take this class at this point in your life."

"It's not like the material will be anything different to the last three years."

"Uh no, it probably won't," Jack agreed. "But… it may be… a little more relevant now."

"Here it comes," Troy muttered.

"Would you rather than I just had my head in the sand, that I was clueless about anything in your life, that I was some absent father who doesn't care about my son and his relationships?"

"No," Troy said honestly. "But… I don't think you need to be worrying yourself about this stuff. I… I care a lot for Gabriella. But we're not… we haven't even TALKED about…"

"You haven't even talked about it?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Okay I'm trying to discontinue this conversation, not make it become more embarrassing," Troy said.

"I don't think it's good that you haven't even talked about it though. Whether I like it or not, I recognise that in a healthy adolescent relationship, sex will become an issue that should be discussed."

Troy exhaled noisily. "Okay."

Jack cleared his throat. "Just remember Troy… no hat, no glove."

Troy narrowed his eyes, looking at his father in confusion. "Uh… do you mean, no glove no love?"

"Right. That one. So… if you need me to uh… to go with you to uh… to the drug store or…"

"DAD!" Troy exclaimed. "NO!"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile over at the Montez household, the exchange that was to take place bared very little similarity to the Bolton father-son chat. Gabriella hesitantly knocked on the door to her mother's study, being called in.

"Mommy, can you sign this for school?" Gabriella said, trying to sound casual.

Elena was distracted with her computer at the time and Gabriella's plan almost worked. She just about reached out with her pen to sign the page without even thinking when something registered. Gabriella had said 'mommy.' A word which comes out very infrequently and only in situations where Elena's attention should indeed be drawn. Elena picked up the pink form.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Oh, East High run these health science courses at the start of every year," Gabriella said.

The form outlined a list of content, which Elena scanned. She paused, picking up her pen and scribbling her signature.

"Gabi..." Elena began, her tone indicating exactly where she was heading.

"Mommy... we don't need to talk about it," Gabriella said softly. "When we do... I'll tell you. Okay?"

"**When **we do? Not... **if **we do?"

Gabriella's eyes widened, realising what she had just said. "Umm... well... yes. I suppose. When."

Elena nodded. "Okay. You will definitely tell me?"

"Yes."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

From homeroom the next morning, Gabriella and Taylor headed to their very first calculus class for the year.

"I am so excited about calculus. Am I completely sad?" Gabriella said.

"Yes," Taylor said bluntly. "Even I am not EXCITED about it. I look forward to the challenge. But I am not EXCITED about it."

The girls entered the room. Mr Davis was sitting at the desk at the front, poring over some paperwork. Normal etiquette would be for students to file in and take their seats. Gabriella and Taylor were familar with Mr Davis, not only from being their pre calculus teacher the year before; but because he was the teacher advisor for the scholastic decathlon team.

"Hi Mr Davis!" Gabriella said brightly.

"Look it's my favourite girls. How was your summer? All rested up for another excting year of learning?"

"Of course," Taylor responded.

"I was looking through our textbook last night and the outline you e-mailed through to everyone, are we really not covering Riemann Sums?" Gabriella asked.

"Gabriella, I am certain that anything that we do not cover in class you will be more than capable of looking into yourself," Mr Davis remarked with a smile.

Gabriella blushed. "Uh, well..."

"She's already read most of the textbook as is," Taylor commented.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile just up the hallway, Troy had arrived at his own first period class. Trigonometry. It was the first class of the year and he was feeling rather nervous about it. He knew that he was going to be surrounded by people a whole lot smarter than him. Interestingly, it was the first time he had walked into a classroom and felt nervous about whether he would have someone to sit with. To his surprise - and his delight - he spotted Paula sitting hesitantly in the second row to the back on the side of the room. She was staring out the window when he approached, sliding into the spare seat beside her.

"So how was your first day of senior year classes?" Troy enquired. "I hardly saw you yesterday."

Paula turned around to look at him, smiling broadly. "You're in this class? Here I was freaking out that I wouldn't like anyone!"

"It's your lucky day."

"And they weren't bad. Kinda regretting taking the extra social science course when I could have just taken computer applications as an elective. This year's work load is looking pretty heavy."

"Tell me about it. I feel like there's heaps of group work this semester, is that just me?"

"No, not just you. My older brother says that they focus on group work in lots of college courses. I guess that's why. My English class already broke into groups, I was pretty lucky. I'm with Gabriella and Ryan."

Troy narrowed his eyes. "Gabi and Ryan are in your English class?"

"Yeah."

"And they're doing a group project together?"

"That's what I said, didn't I?"

"She didn't mention that."

Paula raised her eyebrows. "Am I detecting jealousy on the part of the school stud? Seriously Troy. I don't know Ryan that well but yeah, he seems like a nice guy but… you and Gabriella are like this." She held up her hand, showing her middle and index fingers crossed."

"Lately she and Ryan have been like that," Troy commented, emulating Paula's crossed fingers pose. "In drama yesterday they kept passing notes."

Paula gasped mockingly. "Passing notes, blasphemous!"

Troy glared at her. "Don't patronise me."

"Seriously Troy, I want you to listen to yourself. You spent half of summer running around after Sharpay; and Gabriella managed to move beyond it. If you let her being friends with a guy become an issue – she isn't going to react very well. Trust me on this."

Troy knew that Paula was right and he didn't like admitting when he was wrong. So he did the only thing he could do - change the subject.

"So, tryouts next week?" he asked, referring to cheerleader tryouts.

Paula knew what he was doing but went along with it. "Same day as yours. Except we don't have to re-tryout. It's just the people wanting to join us."

"It's mainly formality with us anyway. You tossing your hat in the ring for captain?"

Paula bit her lip. "I'd love to do it but I don't know if they will pick me. Especially not when Julia is running for class president as well as captain."

"Maybe that's more of a reason to pick you. Her attention would be in two places at once."

"I hear she might have some stiff competition though with the council election."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, Gabriella and Ryan?"

So the change of subject tactic didn't work after all.

"They've got my vote," Paula said with affirmation.

"You don't want My Chemical Romance at the prom?" Troy said teasingly.

Paula rolled her eyes. "Not an MCR fan myself. Yellowcard, then maybe I'd be interested."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Taylor had been putting off a conversation she needed to have all day. About five times she'd said. "Chad?" and then when he would say "yes" she would make up something. Sitting around at lunch time, she decided it was time to bite the bullet.

"Umm... Chad?" Taylor asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"Umm... so... last night when I was getting that form signed by my mom... well she of course wanted to have a 'talk' about.. you know.."

"As they always do."

"Yeah. Anyway... umm... I kinda told her that you and I were dating. And... and now she wants you to come over for dinner."

Troy turned around. "This is WAY more interesting than our conversation," he declared. "So CHAD, what do you reckon about that, buddy? Ready to be eaten alive?"

Chad shot Troy a death stare.

"Was it really that scary coming to my house for dinner for the first time?" Gabriella asked.

Troy gave his girlfriend a placating smile. "Of course not sweetheart, not with your mom."

Gabriella looked down to scoop another spoonful of yoghurt, at which point Troy looked frantically at Chad, nodding his head, implying that yes indeed it HAD been that scary.

"I saw that," Gabriella said.

"Well now that Troy has succeeded in making an even bigger deal about something I was already worried about," Taylor said exasperatedly. "Seriously Chad... what do you think?"

Chad sighed. "Well yeah okay I'm a bit freaked by the idea but of course I'm gonna come. Now that she's asked, I can't exactly say no without looking like an ass, can I?"

Taylor gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

Paula arrived, setting down her tray. "How many days left til graduation?" she said with a groan.

"Too many," Jason said.

"Shouldn't you be campaigning?" Zeke asked.

"Huh?"

Chad motioned to the 'cheerleader' table. Well, what remained of last years cheer squad, and a group of cheer squad hopefuls. Julia and Liana each had a swarm of girls around them - each clearly vying to demonstrate her superiority.

"I don't know if I want to run for captain," Paula said thoughtfully.

"Why not?" Jason asked. "I thought it's what you always wanted."

"Yeah so did I. Guess my priorities have changed."

"Paula, I can't take another season of having to pretend to get along with some braindead moron," Troy whinged.

"Dee wasn't a braindead moron. She was a bitch yeah, but not a braindead moron," Paula said with amusement.

"Okay but seriously. You really want to be working under Julia or Liana? I know Liana is your friend..."

Paula scoffed. "She is someone I 'socialise' with. I wouldn't call her a friend."

"Why don't you want to run?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know if I want to be associated with the connotation of being head cheerleader. Troy just proved that actually - the braindead moron. The head cheerleader is seen as the most braindead moron of a group of braindead morons."

"That was just an offhand comment..." Troy began to say.

"Which represents what a lot of people think. I want to go to a good college. I don't know if spending my days trying to organise the squad is the most effective use of my time."

"Shouldn't you want to run for head cheerleader exactly for those reasons?" Gabriella mused.

Paula turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"Change what people think of cheerleaders. Be the cheerleader who isn't a braindead moron. Represent to the rest of the girls on the squad that they should care about school and their future and more than just flirting with the basketball team," Gabriella said. "Besides, being head cheerleader would be really great for college, if you spin it right and do the right things in the role. It's a leadership experience."

Paula stared at her. Gabriella felt a little uneasy at the stare. "It was just a thought..."

"You're a genius!" Paula said, sitting up a little straighter. "You're completely right. About it all. I can... I can like... REVOLUTIONISE the system."

Gabriella was a little taken aback. "Well I wouldn't go THAT far."

"That's exactly what it is! Just like you and Ryan running for student council!"

"Which we haven't even decided to do yet."

"Details. Okay. I think I want to do this. Yes. I want to do it!" Paula declared, sounding excited. Then she paused. "Except I have to get voted for first."

"You've got a tough crowd this year," Chad said thoughtfully.

"I'll get Monica I think... and maybe Jess... Alyson will be with Julia of course..." Paula mused. "It'll really come down to the newbies. Who will get selected on Monday... leaving me about 24 hours to campaign to them."

"This is all very complicated," Martha said, rather fascinated. "Who knew that the cheer squad could be so political?"

"The cheer squad is more political than any other student body," Paula said, nodding. "So yes... boys... help me. Strategy?"

They looked at one another, feeling a little clueless.

"Get Troy to tell them to vote for you?" Chad suggested, somewhat jokingly.

"Yeah, I have that kind of influence, sure," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

Paula nodded. "Actually... that might work."

"It would work," Zeke said, nodding. "The basketball captain has all sorts of influence and..."

"I'm not captain anymore!" Troy said, exasperatedly. "We don't know who will be captain yet."

Chad groaned. "Would you shut up with this, I'm not captain yet bull shit. It's getting old."

"I think it's important that the head cheerleader is actually in tune with the athletes the team supports," Martha said. "It's not about just Troy. It's about the fact that you are here conversing with the team, rather than giggling about them behind their backs."

"Paula, you know what you have to do now though," Chad said. "You have to go schmooze, just like Liana and Julia."

Paula sighed. "Do I have to?"

They all nodded in agreement. She sighed again, then cleared her throat and plastered a smile onto her face. "Okay. Paula, super cheerleader, is ready to go into action." She picked up her tray and approached the cheerleader group.

"Girls!!" she called excitedly.

"So speaking of campaigning..." Ryan said, turning to Gabriella. "You've had a day now to think. I know I put on the pressure yesterday but seriously, you've had time to contemplate. What do you think?"

She bit her lip. "I think... I think yes. Yes I want to do it."

"Really?" Ryan asked excitedly. "Really, really, truly?"

"Why the hell not!"

"Yes!" Ryan cheered, throwing his arms around her and hugging her tightly. "This is going to be so so so so awesome. Now... we have to start planning."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

After school on Tuesday, Ryan and Gabriella stayed back to work on their campaigning plans and Taylor had some 'mysterious' meeting which she refused to reveal the details of to anyone. The four remaining Wildcats from the previous years team decided to conduct their first unofficial training session in the gym.

"Word on the street is that some hotshot junior from Santa Fe has transferred here," Chad said to them. "Could be some good potential."

"The JV team from last year weren't bad though, I reckon we'll get some good guys on board," Zeke commented.

"And with Troy at the lead, I can already smell the back to back championships," Jason said.

"I'm not..."

"SHUT UP!" All three of them exclaimed simultaneously.

"You know we're gonna vote for you again," Chad said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah but seriously, don't feel like you HAVE to," Troy said earnestly. "And... anyway... for all you know, all the JV guys might not want me. They might vote for any of you."

"Let's just agree to not talk about it again, obviously Bolton has an issue with it," Zeke said, trying to be the diplomat - although he was firmly of the belief that the vote would go as they expected.

"Actually uh... could I ask you guys something?" Troy asked, feeling a little nervous.

"Yeah man, what's up?" Chad asked.

"You know… you know over summer when I asked you what you thought about Ryan… as in, about Ryan and Gabriella?" Troy suddenly asked.

Chad sighed. "Troy, why do you try to make life more difficult than it already is? What's that saying? Hills out of ant nests?"

"Mountains out of molehills?" Zeke supplied.

"Yeah that one. Seriously. Dude. Let it go."

"Yeah but… have you seen them? They sit in drama and pass notes the whole time. And I know it's exactly the same in their English class. I have sources."

"Who is your source?" Jason asked.

"Paula."

"Paula, your good female friend, note FRIEND and nothing more FRIEND Paula?" Chad enquired. "See because, men and women can be FRIENDS?"

Troy exhaled. "I just... I get this vibe is all. You're pretty tight with him Chad. Why don't you give it another go and ask him about her?"

"Troy, you and I are like brothers. You know I've got your back. But to be honest with you, I don't feel comfortable with this. I think Evans is a good bloke. I've got a lot of respect for the guy. I really don't think he's out to steal your girl and I'm not going to be a part of some scheme to dig up information which frankly, I don't think exists."

Troy shrugged. "Okay. Whatever."

"Dude - if you're worried, then maybe you need to talk to Gabriella about it rather than trying to dig up information behind her back," Zeke suggested.

Troy sighed. "I know you're right but... I just..."

"You know you're being paranoid and don't want to sound like an idiot?" Jason suggested.

"Yeah," Troy admitted.

"But it's gonna keep bothering you unless you sort it out," Chad said. "So sort it."

**… … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … … … … … … … … … … … … …**

**Author's note: **Your reviews are muchly muchly muchly appreciated... I know that a lot is going on, if you've got any commentary, con crit, if you're just confused about something, if you disagree with something I'm portraying - tell me! Or if you just want to sing my praises, I would be perfectly content with that too :-P

Thanks as always go to Ayen for her fabulous assistance and I also welcome back on board the beta reading bus _emptrajan_, who I just missed having tear my work apart so much like he did throughout _Play It My Way_ that I thought, let's bring him back on hey? Sucker for punishment I am. (I say this in a positive way.) And no it's not that I am so incompetent that I require two people to read my work. It's because I am a perfectionist and this story is becoming very very very complicated and these two fabulous people have skills which completely complement one another...

Anyway. Review? :-P

- Danielle xo


	8. Chapter 8

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**Author's Note: **For the purpose of moving the plot forward, I suddenly cover a week in one chapter. In anyone else's story this would be fine but within my style of writing it seems a bit disjointed to me... if you get that impression too, just know that I'm doing it because I want to get on with things. Because this story is already going to be ridiculously long and I don't feel the need to drag it longer than necessary just to fill in time with some random chapter.

Oh and my excitement about the HSM3 cut out from last chapter... I just watched the trailer clip on JJ and Oh. My. Freaking. God. I think I am going to DIE waiting for October. It really looks amazing. Better quality filming, more depth... fabulous!

**… … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … … … … … … … … … … … … …**

**Chapter 8**

**… … … … … … … … … … … … … …**

Gabriella had always been relatively strict with herself about using her free periods contructively. Whether it be for an extra curricular activity or school related, she had to be doing something constructive. Even on the third day back at school. On Wednesday, Troy had convinced her to at least bring her campaign discussion with Ryan into the courtyard with them all.

"The fresh air will help you think more creatively," he said. "And maybe we will have some ideas too. Help you brainstorm."

It didn't take much more to convince her that sitting with her friends in the sunshine was a better idea than sitting in the library.

"What's another word for 'uncomfortable'?" Kelsi suddenly asked, looking up from where she was scribbling.

"Context?" Martha prompted. "Like as in, gee it's uncomfortable sitting here in the sun and feeling hot and sticky?"

"No, as in, being uncomfortable discussing something because it's sensitive."

Within moments there were a string of words provided by Martha and Gabriella.

"Why?" Jason asked.

"I'm rewriting my musical submission."

"WHAT?! You spent like all of summer working on it!" Ryan exclaimed. "And I recorded the demo with you and everything."

"No, I'm leaving the music and plot as is. Just the script part, the dialogue, I need to fix. I just can't write dialogue well. In my ideal world, the characters would just sing and dance the whole way through, no talking at all."

"Can I look at it for you?" Gabriella offered, reaching out for the script.

Kelsi clutched at it protectively. "Umm... what if you laugh at it?" she said hesitantly.

"Let her Kels, Gabriella totally fixed my movie script," Jason urged.

Kelsi bit her lip and turned back to Gabriella. "Are you sure?"

Gabriella nodded enthusiastically. "I really enjoyed going over Jason's script. It's like I'm destined to be an editor or something."

"But it'll be a bit more complicated. I mean, you'll have to listen to the demo tape as you read and..."

"Oh the pain, listening to MUSIC!" Gabriella said dramatically. "Seriously Kels, I'd love to help you out. You dedicated your whole life to helping Troy and I prepare for Twinkle Towne. And besides, I'll ENJOY it."

"Do you have time? With class office and everything..."

"It's fine. Really."

"I'll have to burn you a copy of the demo and print the script," Kelsi said. "I'll go do it now."

"We have to go print that thing for our campaign anyway," Ryan said to Gabriella.

"Can I come? I have to check my e-mail," Martha said.

And with that, Gabriella was kissing Troy on the cheek and the four of them disappeared to the computer lab. As Gabriella walked away, Troy's eyes lingered down her body - falling upon her ass. Damn skinny leg jeans. And damn Paula for going shopping with Gabriella at the end of summer vacation.

"Dude, take a photo," Zeke laughed.

"I'm not allowed to check out my girlfriends ass?" Troy asked defensively.

"Course you are. Especially when LOOKING at it is all you do," Chad snickered.

"Shut the fuck up!" Troy exclaimed.

"You talked to her about Ryan yet?" Zeke asked.

Troy shook his head. "No."

"You have to do it sooner or later," Jason said.

"Yeah yeah," Troy said with a sigh. "I'll get there."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Third period Thursday was Ryan, Gabriella and Paula's literature class. Ryan was not obtuse to Troy's hesistance towards him and it was an issue that had been bugging him over the last few days. He wasn't sure whether to bring it up with Gabriella - after all when he'd tried to over summer, she had seemed fairly certain that it wasn't something she wanted to deal with. However the death stare he'd gotten from Troy that morning when he'd hijacked Gabriella the moment they had arrived was enough to tell him that the issue needed to be sorted. He scribbled a note to Gabriella, tossing it onto her desk.

**Troy was looking at me weirdly all of yesterday and today. I mean, he and I didn't really talk a lot to each other til summer but after hanging out a bit, I thought it was weird.**

Gabriella too had noticed the tension - and she was at the point where she could no longer remain in denial about it.

_I think you were right over summer when you told me that you and I being friends is an issue. Especially now coz we're doing the campaign._

**Not much to be jealous of.**

_You and I know that but… Ry, can I tell Troy? Please? He got weird over summer when we were hanging out, and the last thing I want is this ruining my senior year. You said you wanted to start telling people…_

**No offense but I meant tell people I'm friends with. Troy… he's a good guy but we're not best buddies. Besides... you shouldn't HAVE to tell him. He should trust you regardless. Look at him and Paula, they're all close and you don't freak out. Just talk to him about it, yeah? **

Gabriella sighed. She knew that Ryan was right. Damn Ryan being right.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Thursday was the half day for seniors at East High - well, it was in Week 1. Then in Week 2 it was the health science forum. Gabriella in her Gabriella fashion didn't see it as a half day. She saw it as a study opportunity. As she met Troy at his locker after her Calculus II class and they watched as the rest of the school filed toward the cafeteria, Troy was excitedly planning what they could do.

"We could make Thursday afternoons movie afternoon!" he suggested. "Or maybe go to the park for a picnic. Or..."

"How about you come over and study?" Gabriella suggested.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "It's the first week back!"

"Better to start off well than to get behind. You know that from next week you're going to be training madly," Gabriellla reminded him.

The truth was that she had an ulterior motive. She wanted the privacy to get _the Ryan conversation _over and done with. No point in putting off until tomorrow what could be done today. And so almost as soon as they were settled in her bedroom, she launched straight into it.

"Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you upset about something I've done?" she asked.

Troy looked up from where he was sitting on her bed, his English novel in front of him. He hadn't been expecting this. "No!"

"No? Then I'm not imagining you giving Ryan death stares when I'm talking to him?"

Troy was silent for a moment, realising that perhaps he hadn't been as discrete as he had tried to be about his discomfort. "I wouldn't call them death stares. More so… curious glances."

"Do you really think that I'm interested in anyone but you? Do you really think that I care about Ryan the way that I care about you?"

He shrugged. "Look uh… we're opening a can of worms here actually. I know that I should trust you but I have some issues with this. Which is why I haven't said anything, I know that you haven't done anything wrong and that I don't have the right to get upset so I've kept it to myself."

She raised her eyebrows. "Well as long as you've opened the worm can, please elaborate."

Troy bit his bottom lip. "You sure you want me to?"

"If it has something to do with why you're getting all shitty then yes."

"You know how I said that before you, I'd only really had one semi serious girlfriend, that cheerleader Alyson?"

"Yeah."

"It was never a big deal. But the reason why it possibly never became a big deal was because she cheated on me before it could become a big deal. She cheated on me with a friend of mine I might add. We would all hang out and they were close but I knew they were friends so it wasn't a big deal. Little did I know she was getting with him on the side."

"Oh…"

"So this kinda pushes some buttons for me."

Gabriella kissed the back of his hand softly. "I can't change what she did to you but please, please know that I would never do that. Never."

"I get weird when other guys are checking you out. Which they do. Sometimes I feel proud… it's like, that's right and she's my girlfriend, how lucky am I? But sometimes I kinda flip out and think, what if you get bored with me one day? You'll have guys lining up to make things more interesting."

"And you think I don't have those same feelings? Hello, you're the big man on campus," she reminded him, with an amused smile.

"I know I'm being paranoid. Like I said... it's not that I ACTUALLY thought something was going on. I just... my brain goes there, you know?"

"Don't let it, Troy. What we have... it's bigger than that. Don't you think?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded, swallowing. "I'm such an idiot, aren't I?"

She smiled flirtatiously. "You are. But you're my idiot. So it's all good. Just... talk to me next time? I... I don't want what happened over summer to happen again."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

As far as Gabriella was concerned, the tension seemed to have lifted - proof that often communication is the key within any successful relationship. As far as Troy was concerned, he needed to be more discrete about the observations he was making of his girlfriend and Ryan.

The following day at lunch, Gabriella and Troy were sitting across from one another. They weren't directly talking to one another; in fact Troy, Chad and Jason were going over their training schedule and Gabriella was in a separate conversation with Taylor about a homework problem. It wasn't even their homework problem - Paula had asked them for clarification about something she wasn't sure about, and it resulted in the two girls poring over her textbook.

"See, so it was Lincoln and Johnson who were opposed by the Radical Republicans," Gabriella said.

"Was it 1866 when they gained power?" Taylor queried.

"I think so. I'll just check the date… Yes it says here, from 1866 to 1873 the Congressional Reconstruction phase of Reconstruction took place," Gabriella responded.

She didn't hear what Taylor said next because she was distracted by a foot. A foot under the table, reaching over to gently rub against her ankle. Gabriella suppressed a giggle. How cute. She loved how Troy, even when engaged in conversation with his friends, would continually make sure she knew he had her in his mind. Whether it be with a slight smile, a wink, or in this case – footsies under the table.

"Gabriella? Gabriella?" Taylor waved a hand in front of her phase.

"Sorry I spaced. What did you say?"

"I asked whether the Southern Democrats called themselves Redeemers."

"Oh… umm yes that's right."

"Girls, why are you talking about history at lunch time? Especially when it's for PAULA'S assignment and she isn't even here! From now onwards, history is banned from this table at lunch," Chad announced.

"Maybe Gabriella and I should ban you boys from talking about basketball at this table at lunch time. And ban you from carrying around that basketball like it was your child," Taylor suggested with a smirk.

"Yeah, you guys talk about basketball way more than Tay and I talk about history – or science, or any school subject," Gabriella quickly added, anticipating what Chad would say. "We also talk about… the mall and music and clothes and… and…"

Gabriella blushed. The truth was that Taylor and Gabriella spent most of their time talking about Chad and Troy, but of course Gabriella wasn't going to admit that fact.

"The fine men you choose to spend high quality social time with," Troy supplied.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. She pulled her foot away momentarily from the gentle rubbing against Troy's to kick him softly. "You think very highly of yourself don't you?" Troy kicked her back, but the rubbing continued.

"It's okay, they know you talk about them," Jason said. "Would you like to know what they say about you?"

"Dude…" Chad said. "You should not be allowed to speak."

"I think we should change the subject," Troy said quickly.

"Great idea. I have a question to pose to the group. If everyone else looking forward to sex ed week as much as I do?" Chad queried. "It's hilarious"

Immediately Gabriella and Troy retracted their feet, avoiding eye contact.

"The video is the best part, made in the 1980's, with the script. It's like low budget porn," Jason commented with a laugh.

"Except giving up free period blows," Zeke remarked.

"Blows – nice use of terminology," Chad laughed.

"Listen I just realised I had to uh… return a book to the library so I'll see you guys later," Gabriella said suddenly, jumping up and dashing away from the table.

Troy watched as she walked away quickly but didn't say anything.

"That was weird," Taylor commented.

Chad grinned, watching Troy carefully. "Dude, you guys haven't had 'the talk' yet have you?"

"Chad, I'm not talking about it. Not here anyway," Troy said, trying to shut down the conversation. "I've gotta go too. Have to go talk to a teacher. See you."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The weekend flew by. Homework was tackled. Dates were had. Conversations were avoided.

And for the boys, a lot of basketball was played - in preparation for Monday's tryouts.

Taylor couldn't believe that Gabriella had convinced her to come along on Monday afternoon. Imagine, two girls who had never even been to a high school basketball game, suddenly in the gym watching the tryouts. It was one thing becoming more involved with the school spirit side of things. Going to games themselves, that was acceptable. Taylor was even looking forward to the beginning of the season. Pep rallies, maybe. But watching tryouts was another matter altogether.

It was protocol that everyone, even the players from the winning team the year before, had to try out. Meaning that Troy, Jason, Chad and Zeke had to 'try out' along with the rest of the guys. It was a humid day and on humid days the gym became ridiculously hot. Despite the heat, Troy and Chad were playing all out, being extra competitive. They were like peacocks, preening, showing off to the girls they knew were there to watch them.

"I can't believe you dragged me here to ogle the Neanderthals," Taylor said quietly to Gabriella.

"We are not here to ogle. I am here to learn the rules of basketball," Gabriella said indignantly. Taylor raised her eyebrows. Gabriella giggled. "Okay so maybe there's a little ogling. Admit it. You love it."

Just watching Gabriella's gaze was enough evidence that her true motives included perving on her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who, was indeed perve worthy material. Her eyes were trained on Troy, watching his every move. He was practically dripping with sweat. When they broke for a quick drink, Troy took off his sweaty shirt to change into a fresh one. Gabriella drew in a sharp breath. Her boyfriend stretched his arms, first pulling each arm across his chest, then behind his back with an elbow in the air.

Taylor found it more interesting watching Gabriella's reaction.

"You are so whipped sister."

… … … …

Meanwhile down on the court, Chad went over to where Troy was searching for his spare shirt in his gym bag.

"Nice move dude," he complimented.

Troy frowned, not understanding. "Your tone of voice suggests your not referring to a basketball related move."

"Of course not. The shirt off, ever so casually. Gabriella could not keep her eyes off you."

"You do know that I am dating Gabriella? It's not as though I'm here trying to impress her," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"Maybe that's where you're going wrong then," Chad said.

"Huh?"

"Boys! You can gossip at the beauty parlour later. Let's get back to work," Coach Bolton shouted.

… … … …

"I know," Gabriella admitted. "This time last year, I hated weekends and just wanted to be in school all the time. Now, I just want Saturday nights to go on forever and ever and ever."

"Date night?"

"Uh huh."

"Tell me about it," Taylor agreed.

Gabriella smiled. "I'm so glad you and Chad are dating now. It's amazing how wrong you are for each other, and yet manage to be so perfectly right for each other."

"It's like yin and yang, you know? When I get worked up about something, he can just simplify it and soothe me. And then there will be times when I will be feeling stubborn about something, and Chad will have the ability to look deeper at the issue and make me think about stuff I never would have thought about before. There's sooo much more to him than people realise."

"And you think he's hot," Gabriella added.

"I swear, spending time around those guys has made your brain shrink and become one track."

"I was just saying ADDITIONALLY. It's a perk, you know?"

Taylor smiled slightly, giving away that she agreed.

… … … …

Tryouts ran smoothly, there was no need for an overnight decision - Coach Bolton and his assistant took just five minutes to go over their notes and came back to make the announcement. The four senior Wildcats of course retaining their positions on the squad. As expected, the stand outs from the previous years JV team were upgraded to the varsity team. With a couple of surprise additions in the form of transfers from schools in other districts. And then there was a final reminder.

"Okay guys, we meet back here same time tomorrow for our first training session, starting off with the big vote. Don't be late!"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

That night on the phone, Gabriella sensed that Troy was a little distant.

"So try outs went well today," she said, trying to perk him up with a topic that he would be able to drone on about.

"Yeah they did," he said simply.

"You were playing all out. You really think you wouldn't get selected again?"

"Selected, of course I knew I'd get selected. But... you know... with the vote tomorrow, it's never too late to be giving a good impression."

"And... you're worried that you might not get team captain again or something? I mean you keep saying it but do you really believe that you might not?"

Troy sighed. "To be honest, I think I'd be offended if I didn't but... stranger things have happened. And with the summer just gone... who knows? I mean Chad would be good at the job, and he was my vice last year. All it takes is one of the juniors to spread the word that Chad is the guy for the job and I could lose it. But I guess ultimately it doesn't really matter. I don't play basketball to be captain, I play it coz I love the game and that's all that matters."

He decided to change the subject, preferring to keep his mind off it.

"How's the campaign going?"

"We got our posters back this afternoon, they look so awesome. Good thing Ryan was willing to take advantage of the credit card, we need it to battle the combined credit cards of Julia and Dylan. And we're going to meet after school tomorrow to work on our platform. After the vote, that is."

"You're gonna come?" Troy queried.

"Well yeah... if you want that is?"

There was no need to even think about his answer. It was said with perfect certainty.

"Definitely. Definitely, definitely want you there."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Troy's general theory on these types of moments in life is to expect the worst, so you don't get hurt when it goes wrong. Like when he first asked Gabriella out – it was a million times harder because he talked himself into believing that she would say no when any fool knew she was going to say yes. He had mentally drawn up a list of reasons why he SHOULDN'T be Wildcats captain that year. To the point where he almost ran around trying to convince everyone to vote for Chad.

He reached the gym on Tuesday afternoon in a timely manner. The first thing they did was cast their votes – being given slips of paper, Coach Bolton going around in the locker room as the boys got changed, holding the cup from the previous year out for the boys to put the votes into.

Whilst Coach Mason tallied the votes – with another teacher with him to ensure there was no bias or incorrect tallying – Coach Bolton ran the team warm up.

The gymnasium had a smattering of spectators. A collection of teachers had turned out to hear the result of the vote. Various friends and other interested students waited anxiously. Gabriella clutched onto Taylor's hand.

"I'm so nervous for him, even though I know they're going to vote for him again. I'm nervous because I know he's nervous," she whispered to Taylor.

The newly formed cheersquad, who were practicing up the other end of the gym, fell in a silent hush as the Assistant Coach emerged from the office area,

"Seems we have an audience," he remarked.

"Don't know why, we all know what the result is," Zeke said under his breath.

"So in an overwhelming victory, we have a vote of 11 to 1 in favour of reinstating Troy Bolton as team captain," Coach Mason announced, a grin on his face.

The gym erupted into applause and cheers. Troy was truly shocked, and stood dumbfounded as his teammates patted him on the back and congratulated him. The cheerleaders erupted into a "Gimme a T" chant, spelling out T-R-O-Y.

"Are you guys sure about this?" he asked, glancing around at his mates.

"Yeah, we're really not going to vote for the guy who led us to the championship last year," Jason remarked.

"Yeah but, after summer…"

"Dude. We've moved on. You're the right guy for the job," Chad said firmly.

Troy nodded, the news sinking in.

"WHAT TEAM?" he shouted.

"Wildcats!"

"WHAT TEAM?"

"Wildcats!"

"WHAT TEAM?"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats!"

"GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!"

"All right, Wildcats!" Troy clapped twice. "Pair up!"

… … …

Following their first official team practice, Troy sent the coaches away and had the guys in the team gather round, casually sprawled in a group on the bleachers.

"Okay guys, this is gonna seem kinda dorky, but we're all gonna need to make sure we have everyone elses contact details which could take forever. So I'll just pass this piece of paper round, chuck your name and cell and e-mail on it and then I'll go photocopy it, yeah? Also, if you don't have a facebook then I'd say get one coz I'm planning to set up a Wildcats basketball group thing. Just so we can put up team photos and stuff, and keep people updated on our season and stuff. And also it's good for if we have random social events - I can't really technically broadcast them at our practices."

"Sucks having your dad as the coach I bet," one of the guys said.

Troy shrugged. "There are ups and there are downs. But yeah, I deal."

"We gonna have a beginning of season party?" another one of the guys asked.

Troy glanced around at his friends. "Definitely at some point, we'll have to see when," he mused. "But for now, I was actually thinking it would be awesome if we went out and did something as a team, like say on Friday night? Pizza and bowling, some shit like that? There's a lot of fresh blood here, and with a couple of you guys being new to East High, it'd be cool to get to know each other."

The plan was approved of by all. Troy made it sound casual but in actual fact he had found this random book in Gabriella's room over summer which talked about team bonding principles. He'd found it rather fascinating - and had already decided that if he was selected as captain again, he wanted to use some of the concepts.

As the team broke apart, Chad said quietly to Troy, "You seemed rather organised for someone who thought he wouldn't get voted for again?"

Troy rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

On Wednesday lunch time, the newly formed Wildcats Varsity basketball team was led into the gymnasium by their leader to hear the result of the cheer squad vote.

"This is about more than caring about them because they are hot and wear little skirts," Troy said to the guys. "It's the cheerleaders who drive the crowds to pep up, which in turn motivates us. So we should support them."

The truth was that Troy recognised the element of truth within Paula's comments the previous week about her alliance with them. He desperately wanted his friend to get the job. A - because he wanted to work with her and NOT Liana or Julia. B - Because she was the right person for the job.

She had spent the last week performing her subtle campaign. Getting to know the girls who she knew were planning to try out. Offering them assistance, helping them prepare their routines. Discussing the sports that they cheered for. Troy liked to think that he was fairly in tune with the word on the street - and the word on the street was that it was a tight race. In the minutes before the vote was due to be cast, he led the Wildcats into the gym to take seats at the back of the bleachers. The girls were just casually standing around, waiting for the dance teacher who was facilitating the vote to arrive. He took this as his opportunity, and he and Chad sauntered over to Paula.

"Nervous?" he whispered into her ear as he gave her a hug.

"Petrified," she replied. "Feeling better with you here."

"Looking good ladies," Chad called out to them all. "Good luck. Vote wisely and... stuff..."

Less than ten minutes later - Paula Hoffman was announced as the new head cheerleader. The guys couldn't hide their excitement. There was no point in pretending that they weren't biased.

"GO PAULA!" Chad shouted as the rest of the cheer squad were hugging her.

She looked rather stunned - happily stunned, but nevertheless stunned.

"YOU ROCK PAULA!" Troy shouted.

Her bright smile up at them was enough to say just how happy she was.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The following morning as the Wildcats met on the front steps, Gabriella handed Kelsi her script. "Sorry it took a while to go through it, I've been a little busy with organising the campaign. I made a whole bunch of notes - you will see from the red pen. I hope you don't think I was too critical, I mean, essentially it was really really good but I was just being pedantic because I know how perfect you want it to be."

Kelsi was flipping through. "These are really good notes. Oh. That makes perfect sense. Why didn't I think to do that?" she mused as she went through.

Impulsively, Kelsi hugged her friend. "Thank you so so so so so much. This is going to be so brilliant."

Gabriella smiled. "I agree. I really really love it Kels, you've put so much thought into it."

"What's it about?" Troy asked suddenly. There had been random discussion about Kelsi's musical for weeks, but it was the first direct interest he had shown.

"It's like a love... not a triangle. A hexagon," Kelsi said. "But cooler. And modern. There's basically six main characters. That was my overall theme - that I am over all of these musicals where there are two key characters and then a bunch of bit parts."

"I like the character Nina," Gabriella said.

Kelsi grinned. "Good."

"Why good?"

"Well I wrote her for you, of course."

Gabriella had suspected as much as she had gone through - in fact she could identify that Kelsi had written several parts very specifically for particular people.

"And you just assume that I want to audition?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, first it has to get SELECTED to be the fall musical. I hear that one of the sophomores in the drama club is working on a submission as well. But yes... if it is selected... yes, you HAVE to audition!"

"But really, what would you do if she decided she didn't want to audition?" Troy asked.

"I knew she would," Kelsi said simply.

"Oh really?"

"Is... Is Mike..." Gabriella ventured.

Kelsi nodded. "Yup."

"Is Mike what?" Troy demanded.

"Nothing!" Kelsi said. "Anyway. I'll work on all these notes and I'm sure it's just going to be a hundred times better. I'm so excited!"

"What are you excited about? Sex ed this afternoon?" Chad asked, overhearing.

"You so have a one track mind," Gabriella said, somewhat in awe.

"It's the entire male species with the one track mind, Gabriella," Chad said frankly.

"Is this true?" Gabriella asked Troy.

He bit his lip. "Uh... somewhat. At times."

And by association, he was admitting that he thought about sex. And was it such a leap to assume that within that train of thought, his girlfriend might also be involved.

Gabriella blushed. "Right. I see."

Chad smirked, witnessing the tension. "An exciting afternoon lies ahead indeed."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Like I said, a rather scant coverage of a whole week but yes... moving it forward is the key. So. Tomorrow I fly to Singapore, then from Singapore back home on the weekend... The intent is to post the next chapter in a few days whilst in Singapore - my youth hostel is meant to have internet access. If it doesn't and if I don't get around to it, you know why it's not up, okies :-)

You guys have been so so so fantastic with your support and reviews, I'm just so excited that you guys are enjoying this! Keep keep showing your support and telling me what your thinking. This chapter had movement foward here in about eighty four plot lines. Which are you interested in? Any of them boring you? Do you just want Troy and Gabriella to have sex and get it over and done with? (Ha. Won't be happening like that sorry) Anywho. Yes. Reviews equal motivation which equals more frequent updates. -Dani xo


	9. Chapter 9

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Greetings from Singapore! This will officially be the last chapter that I post for the duration of my overseas trip... because I will be home this Sunday! Backpacking the world (well, mainly Europe) has been the most incredible experience of my life and also the scariest and I feel lucky that I've been able to use my fan fiction as a bit of a security blanket. Without you guys and your support, I know it would have been a billion times harder so from my bottom of my Zac Efron loving heart, thank you so much.

Also, I am just acknowledging that the sex ed portion of this chapter is a bit raw, I hadn't actually covered the class in detail and it was only after all the reviews saying that this was something you were looking forward to that I got a flash of inspiration of how to cover it in a somewhat amusing manner that actually developed the plot.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**Chapter 9**

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Gabriella was finally beginning to feel somewhat relaxed. The bland, middle aged man they'd brought in to deliver the information had spent the first twenty minutes delivering factual, scientific information. Gabriella could deal with science. Sure, biology wasn't her favourite. But as long as they were filling out diagrams with blank lines pointing at various reproductive parts, she was within her comfort zone. Even as they moved on to discuss the function of the male erection, she was able to focus on the scientific fact. To think about muscle contraction and blood flow. It was a question of mind control. It's information on a page, that's all. It's got nothing to do with the very act that she had felt her boyfriend experience more than once.

But when the "Preventing Teenage Pregnancy" pamphlets began to circulate the classroom, all of a sudden the comfort zone was removed. And when several hands of bananas appeared from the cupboard, along with a box of condoms, Gabriella felt her throat go somewhat dry.

"For the following practical exercise I require you to break into pairs," Mr Elton announced.

Gabriella's first instinct was to grab at Taylor, however Chad had already pulled his chair up to her desk. So instead she found herself instinctively reaching toward Ryan. Which worked out well for him, since Kelsi and Martha had joined; and so too had Zeke and Jason.

Troy couldn't help but feel annoyed. Firstly, because he was surrounded by friends and HE was the one who wound up ditched. But mostly, it was because he had been ditched by his girlfriend. Because she had chosen to play with condoms with Ryan.

No no, there was no jealousy issue. He had that under bay.

Sure.

It was perfectly reasonable to not want his girlfriend playing with condoms with another guy, wasn't it?

Although Troy knew deep down that had Gabriella wound up with Chad or Zeke or Jason, he wouldn't be feeling the annoyance he was currently experiencing.

He knew their class had even numbers, and he proceeded to glance around the room to find the other person without a partner. Eyes fell upon the blonde haired girl, typing away at her Blackberry whilst examining her reflection in a sparkling compact. A part of him groaned internally. The other part took guilty pleasure in knowing that this would annoy Gabriella. He stood and strode across the room.

"Looks like it's you and me, Sharpay," Troy said casually.

Sharpay took a glance back, witnessing her brother with Troy's girlfriend. "Looks like. Lucky me," she said sarcastically.

As predicted, the bananas were distributed, one to each pair, along with a collection of condoms. With instructions given to take turns practicing the act of putting on a condom effectively.

"There is no need to pocket any of the condoms boys, I have a whole box that you will be free to take a handful from," Mr Elton said dryly.

... ... ...

"You leapt at me rather quickly," Ryan said quietly as they waited for their banana to be handed to them.

Taylor swivelled around, overhearing. "They haven't had the talk yet," she informed him.

"At all?" Ryan asked dubiously, glancing at Gabriella.

"Taylor! Can't you keep your mouth shut," Gabriella groaned.

"Sorry."

"Seriously, I thought you were a bright girl. You should talk about this stuff, whether you want to do it or not."

"Ryan, we're not having a conversation about this here," Gabriella said with gritted teeth, cheeks flaming.

... ... ...

Kelsi and Martha had found themselves in a fit of giggles and simply couldn't stop laughing. When one feels uncomfortable about a situation, the best thing you can do is laugh. And the girls had taken this very seriously.

"My stomach hurts," Kelsi gasped.

Finally Martha regained control of herself for long enough to pick up a condom package and rip it open. Somehow, by an unknown force, it flicked into the air and landed onto Zeke's desk.

"What the?" Zeke said out loud, turning around.

Martha had gone bright red, but the action had been enough to break her and Kelsi into a fresh fit of laughter.

... ... ...

Not far away from the girls, Liana shot a dirty look back at them. She found their giggling rather immature. As the teacher passed, she picked up a condom wrapper, efficiently opened it and covered the head of the banana, rolling it down with ease.

"Very good," Mr Elton said approvingly.

"Had a lot of practice huh, Liana?" Jason joked. Well, it wasn't really a joke.

"Shut up!" Liana said, turning around to slap him on the arm.

"What ARE you two doing?" Mr Elton demanded, hovering above Zeke and Jason.

The boys had decided that putting condoms on bananas really wasn't their idea of a fun filled Thursday afternoon, and had proceeded to build an architectural piece. They'd pulled out items from their pencil cases, sticking the tips of pencils into erasers and were hanging condoms like they were flags. The banana itself was nowhere in sight.

"We were waiting for our banana, sir," Zeke said, straight faced.

Jason quickly swallowed the remainder of the banana he had eaten, the skin tossed into his backpack.

"Well WHY didn't you just put up your hand and ask for one?" Mr Elton asked impatiently.

... ... ...

Gabriella was trying so hard to concentrate amidst the chaos going on around her.

_So. This is a banana. But it is not a banana, it is a representation of a penis. A rather demented penis. Not that I've SEEN one but I gather they're not typically this curved. I can do this. Simple. Practicing putting a condom on a banana... a penis... Troy's penis... NO not Troy's penis... well if anyone's it would be Troy's I suppose but.._

"Congratulations on being a teenage parent!" a booming voice interrupted Gabriella's train of thought.

"Huh?" she said, looking up at Mr Elton and then down. She had tugged the condom onto the banana so hard that the end had split.

"Not necessarily," she said defensively. "It would depend upon where I was within my... err... cycle. And I might be on the contraceptive pill for all you know."

"Oh good, a science student," Mr Elton said dryly. "Rule number 1. ALWAYS WEAR A CONDOM. Rule number 2. DON'T BREAK THE CONDOM. I don't care about your cycle and your pills."

"But... you were talking about pregnancy and..."

"It's about more than pregnancy. It's about STDs and..."

"Are you suggesting my boyfriend is out slutting around with random hoes?" Gabriella demanded.

"He could be."

"But..."

"Are you with him 24/7?"

"No but..."

"Then he could be."

... ... ...

Given Chad's somewhat immature remarks in the lead up to the session, Taylor was surprised that her boyfriend was sitting diligently beside her. He had not only remained quiet but he had also been paying a good deal of attention to the information.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asked suspiciously, as she held the banana for him.

"Yeah, why?"

"I was anticipating some sort of lewd commentary which would put you in detention. Like last year."

Chad grinned. "Uh... yeah. Dunno. Thought... maybe it was time to listen to this stuff."

Taylor glanced at him sideways, a slight smile on her face. "Oh really."

"Uh huh."

"You think that immature commentary might... deflect from your appeal?"

"I could have ditched you and gone with Troy if all I wanted to do was make immature comments."

Taylor handed him the banana. "My turn."

... ... ...

Troy was so busy keeping an eye on Gabriella and Ryan that he was paying absolutely no attention to what he was doing

"Troy?" Sharpay ventured.

There was no response.

"Troy!" she snapped.

"Huh?" Troy looked up at her, and then looked down. He was clutching onto the overripe banana so tight that it had collapsed and he had squished it, banana oozing in his hand.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Troy and Gabriella left the class both feeling secretly uncomfortable. Health seminar completed. Awkwardness now officially in place. The session had concluded with the predictable 80's porn movie, throughout which Gabriella's eyes had been boring straight forward. There was no part of her that could look at Troy or she knew that she was going to be as red as a beetroot. They left the classroom, a peculiar vibe in the air. Do you talk about what you just learnt? Discuss the video? Or just pretend that it didn't happen?

"Umm did you want to come over and study again?" Gabriella asked Troy, deciding upon the latter.

He nodded, sensing her need to quash the awkward vibe. "Sure. I wanted help with physics homework anyway."

The short drive to Gabriella's was filled with the sound of the radio blasting. Entering her room, Gabriella proceeded to turn her bag upside down to empty it. A condom package fell onto the floor. Troy spotted, it and she coughed, feeling rather embarrassed.

"Does he really expect us girls to go home and practice putting condoms on bananas?" Gabriella queried, not allowing her eyes to meet his.

"Well, in trig class, I sit there and wonder whether the teacher really expects that everyone is going to go home and complete all forty five questions he assigned," Troy joked.

Gabriella wrinkled her nose. "45 questions?! That's harsh. Even Mr Davis isn't that harsh."

"Oh, about half are multiple choice. Pretty simple. But I did want to ask you about these last ones, I'm not sure how to do them."

It was avoidance really. Avoiding talking about a subject which they were both thinking about more and more.

After going through some trig and physics with Troy, Gabriella turned to her literature homework and Troy was settled on her bed, his English novel in front of him. However it wasn't the words on the page that his eyes were trained upon. Gabriella was wearing what was a fairly short skirt by her standards, and it was riding up her thigh a little as she sat at her desk. Troy couldn't help but stare at her legs, crossed so primly. He'd never really been into legs – Jason was the legs man of the little group of four. But then again, there wasn't a single feature of Gabriella's which didn't drive him crazy.

Troy suddenly snapped out his reverie, shaking his head and returned his eyes to the novel.

… … …

Gabriella had pretended to be oblivious to Troy's intent stare, but the truth was that she was beginning to feel slightly prickly as his eyes had been looking so intently at her, that look he had been giving her more and more frequently of late.

"You look sexy when you read," Gabriella said very suddenly.

Troy looked up, smiling at her. "Oh really, I do, do I?"

"Yup. All… intense and filled with concentration."

The gaze they exchanged was prolonged. Yes. Definitely a shift in the relationship.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The more that Troy thought about it, the more that he was glad that he had initiated the Friday night bonding session. One of the reasons why the Wildcat team had been so tight the year before had been that Troy, in his sophomore year making starting varsity, began to form social connections with the guys on the team in the older years. He would be invited along to a party, and then he would bring his friends along. So when the following year came along and he, Chad, Jason and Zeke were all on the team and in fact were the dominant members of the squad, they already knew the senior guys pretty well, particularly as the summer between sophomore and junior year had featured some pretty awesome parties.

This year, they hardly knew any of the new members. They knew them by name and face and position, having gone to watch junior varsity matches. a couple of the guys were related to graduated wildcats. But there wasn't the same bond. And then there was Sam who was a transfer from a school in California; and Nicky who had moved down from Santa Fe.

Additionally, Troy perceived a problem where the new guys would be aware of the tight bond between he and his three friends and therefore have trouble breaking into the group.

Troy wasn't selected for team captain just because of his jump shot. There was a lot more to his brain, a lot more to the effort that he was willing to put in to make sure that the Wildcats would emerge as number one.

He spent Friday lunch time scouring the cafeteria, chatting with the various guys in the team, generally trying to establish a personable bond with them. He paid particular attention to the new guys in the team, bringing them over and introducing them to the rest of his friends. He couldn't help but grin as Nicky was clearly checking out Gabriella.

"Gabriella and Ryan are running for student council," Troy added.

"Yeah, I saw the posters. You've got my vote."

Gabriella smiled graciously. "Really? That's awesome to hear!"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The latter half of junior year, Saturday night date night had been quashed as a result of Troy's committment to the New Mexico basketball squad; and then catching up with tonnes of missed school work. Over summer Saturday night had been work night. But Saturday night was firmly implanted as being back as date night. They were strolling hand in hand to the movie theatre, Troy talking animatedly about the previous night.

"It was so awesome Gabi, you've no idea. I just felt this... incredible VIBE between the guys. It's so important to have that social bond or you can never trust each other to play together well. I learnt that one with the Roadrunners last year. They were getting along so well and they're all cluey guys, you know? Not just jocks, they are ATHLETES."

Gabriella loved it when Troy got excited and passionate about something. His eyes lit up, his whole face lit up. She was smiling as he spoke, just enjoying the sound of his voice. He realised she hadn't said anything in a while.

"Oh... am I talking too much? Tell me about your day."

Gabriella giggled. "Nothing to tell really. Taylor and I did some calculus homework over the phone. I read a book. Mom and I had lunch. That's about it. How was work this morning? Still glad you agreed to the Saturday morning shift?"

"Yeah, it was great actually. I thought the kids would shit me, they did over summer. But the ones doing this class actually WANT to be there, they haven't just been dumped there while their parents are drinking cocktails by the pool.

"Did that kid wack you in the head with his golf ball this morning?"

"No," Troy chuckled. "I stay farrr away from that kid when he's swinging."

Troy held the door open for her as they stepped into the movie theatre foyer.

"Normally I check out what's playing, I didn't get time to this afternoon. Anything in particular you want to see?" Troy asked.

"Surprise me," Gabriella said. "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom."

Troy was immediately hit with an idea which he found rather interesting. Scanning over the few cashiers, he spotted one of the guys as being a Wildcat football graduate from the year before. He lined up at that register.

"Mark, sup man," Troy greeted his acquaintance.

"Troy, how you going dude?"

"Yeah not bad. How's college life treating you?"

"Not bad at all so far, but time will tell."

"So I wanted to get two student tickets to whatever movie is selling the least," Troy said.

Mark laughed. "You here with Gabriella?"

"Of course."

Mark glanced over his screen, punching a few buttons. "There you go buddy."

Armed with popcorn, drinks and movie tickets, Troy waited for Gabriella to emerge from the bathroom.

"I know one of the cashiers, he said he's heard this movie is pretty good," Troy said casually. "Opens in ten. Wanna go in now?"

"Sure."

She took the popcorn from him - how he had balanced all the items was beyond her - and followed him towards Cinema 12. Often a movie being put into the smallest cinema should be an indicator of its lack of quality, but it was only upon entering the room that Gabriella questioned the recommendation.

"It's nearly empty," she remarked. "Are you sure your friend got this right?"

Troy shrugged. "Whatever. Look, the back is free."

And here was where the plan came into play.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile, Chad and Taylor were just up the street at the video game arcade.

"I can't believe you're beating me!" Chad grunted, as he turned the steering wheel and tried desperately to push his foot further down on the pedal.

Taylor could only laugh as she sped her computer animated car over the finish line in first place. "Ha, take that Danforth."

"And you didn't even wanna come here tonight."

"I never said I didn't want to come. I was agreeable seeing as you let me pick the movie last weekend."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You whined the whole way here."

"I did not!" Taylor went quiet. "Were you still okay for dinner next weekend? With... with my mom?"

Chad nodded. "I said I'd come, didn't I?"

"Yeah I just... I thought you might think that it was... umm..."

"Too soon?" Chad supplied.

"Well, yeah."

"We flirted for like six months. And did other stuff before we started dating. Let's just face it, we aren't following any of the rules of how a standard relationship should work."

Taylor giggled. "Very true. Anyway. You promised me that you would win me a stuffed animal."

"That I did. There's a trick Troy taught me about how to cheat the ticket machines."

"Lead the way."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Jason was sitting at home, on a Saturday night, bored out of his brain. He had called Zeke but apparantley his friend was 'busy' - not elaborating upon HOW he was busy. Probably baking a cake or something. Chad and Troy were now officially unavailable every Saturday night for... probably the rest of their lives. He'd beaten every PlayStation game he owned, he'd watched every DVD, there was nothing on TV. Mindlessly, he sat down at the computer and logged into his MSN. And there it was, a bright light. KeLsI.

_Hey, I'm bored. Can I call you?_ - Jason typed, anxiously awaiting the reply.

_Please do. I'm also bored_ - her reply came.

Jason grinned. He too had a life. If talking on the phone could be counted as a life.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The movie Troy and Gabriella were seeing was absolutely dreadful. There was seemingly no plot, an uninspired acting performance. Exactly what Troy had hoped for. When he'd leaned in to kiss her five minutes into the movie - right when the plot would normally be getting slightly interesting - there was no objection from Gabriella whatsoever. In fact it was the complete opposite. The kisses he had initiated had been soft and teasing. The kisses she had responded with were lustful and probing.

When Troy pulled away slightly breathlessly, it was Gabriella whose kisses now trailed down from his lips to his jawline, and then began to kiss down his neck. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

"Do boys like this too?" she whispered.

Troy almost could have laughed if it hadn't been for the distraction of Gabriella's warm breath tingling just below his ear. He swallowed, and nodded. "Uh huh."

She tentatively gave a languid lick along his neck, before latching her lips just below his ear and sucking slightly. Troy let out a slight gasp, providing Gabriella with the reassurance that she was doing it right. He was having to suppress little grunts - hyper aware that they weren't completely alone in the theatre. Additionally, he was hyper aware of the affect she was having upon him, an affect which could lead to disastrously messy results. He gently nudged her off him, reconnecting their lips softly.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

On Sunday afternoon, Gabriella and Ryan sat spread out in the Evans living room, paperwork scattered across the coffee table. Monday and Tuesday were the final official days of campaigning; with students being given Wednesday until lunch time to cast their votes.

"Okay. So we have our speeches prepared. We've practiced for the question and answer. I've picked my outfits - what about yours?" Ryan asked.

Gabriella stared at him. "My outfits?"

"Try to look... sexy, yet serious. Yes. That's the vibe we need."

"I can't believe you think costume decisions will influence the way people vote."

"Everything counts Gabriella, that's how politics works. Half the people don't really care, they are just passing by and think - she looks nice, I'll vote for her."

She sighed. "Fine. Hot but serious. You might need to go through my wardrobe."

"That I can do."

A little ruff was heard - often the sign that Sharpay was somewhere nearby. Sure enough, Sharpay entered a moment later.

"Uh... can I help you guys with anything?" she asked hesitantly.

Ryan stared at his sister. Since he had embarked upon this campaign, she had not known one ounce of interest in it at all.

"Are you okay?"

Sharpay sighed irritably. "I'm not COMPLETELY self centred Ryan. I know this thing seems to be important to you. I thought I would offer help. Jeez."

"I was just surprised is all!"

"Whatever. I won't bother next time!"

And she flounced away, Boi trotting behind.

Gabriella glanced sideways at Ryan. "Is it just me or is she even worse than usual?"

Ryan nodded. "I almost wish she'd just go back to ordering me around. I can't deal with 24/7 PMS for much longer."

"And this is all because of you being friends with us?"

"Yes. Well not only that. It's a part of it. Things are kinda weird at home at the moment too. It's just... there's a lot of complicated stuff. I try to stay out of it, deal with one thing at a time." Ryan smiled brightly. "So. Back to this. Serious but sexy. After we organise this, we'll go over to your place and go through your wardrobe. Maybe we'll drive over to Troy's and get his opinion. Except, he would think whatever you wear is hot."

Gabriella blushed. "Whatever."

Ryan smirked. "It's true. You know it. He worships the ground you walk on."

"I think it's kinda reciprocal," she said softly.

"Definitely reciprocal. You go all red when I just bring him up," Ryan said with a laugh.

"Shut up!"

As if on queue, Gabriella's cell phone sounded with the incoming text sound. She picked it up, smiling slightly.

"Tell Troy I said hi," Ryan said, not even looking up from the copy of the speech he was reading over.

"Will do," Gabriella replied.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

On Monday morning, Troy was grateful that it was raining. Rain gave the perception that the weather was a little chilly. In turn providing context to why he might possibly need to be wearing a turtleneck skivvy under his t-shirt. The truth was that Gabriella had latched on something chronic and the mark she had left was likely to remain for another couple of days.

As he walked to her door on Monday morning, he would have made a gentle comment about it - if it wasn't for her state of complete frenzy.

"WHY did I agree to this!" she screeched.

She was carrying a giant folder with ELECTION marked neatly on the front; a set of posters; and an extra bag which contained a change of clothes. On top of all her usual school books. Troy quickly grabbed what he could before she dropped it all.

"Just think, two and a half more days of campaigning and for better or worse, it's over, right?"

Gabriella hardly heard him. "I HATE giving speeches. That should have been reason enough to have refused."

"Babe, you do recall like singing and acting on stage in the musical right?"

"Yeah I do but this is different. If I mess up, I'll be ruining Ryan's whole thing, all of his work. And he so, so wants this. I wouldn't have even contemplated it if it wasn't for him."

"But now that you're doing it, you really want it yourself?" Troy asked. "And that's really why you're nervous?"

Gabriella glanced at him. "Yes," she admitted.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

By half way through lunch, Gabriella was sick of smiling. Monday and Tuesday were the most important days of campaigning. Previously, it had just been going around and talking to random people, putting up posters, handing out flyers. But now - it was standing behind a table in the gym, smiling constantly, answering question after question after question.

"So Gabriella, what band are you guys planning to organise for the prom?" she was asked by some random kid she had never seen.

It was the eighth time she had answered the question. She was sick of giving her manufactured response about the important issues that they were choosing to prioritise over the prom - and that a committee would be organised specifically to organise school dances and so that she, in fact, would not have any contribution to the choice of band.

"My cousin is a roadie for Fallout Boy, so I might be able to hook them up," she said casually.

"REALLY?"

She nodded. "No promises, but it's a definite possibility."

"Awesome!"

Gabriella felt a light smack on her arm.

"That was naughty," Troy's voice said from behind, kissing her neck softly.

"I'm so over this Troy," Gabriella whispered into his ear as she hugged him hello.

"Me too," he declared.

The entire Wildcat crew had been acquired to assist with the campaign. Before school, after school, lunch time, free periods, during classes, overnight while on MSN or Facebook - they were all on the official Ryan/Gabriella campaign team. Handing out posters and flyers. They all had memorised the dot point list of important issues that Ryan and Gabriella had outlined. They each had been given a core group to focus on. Kelsi on the members of the drama club; Chad on the athletics crowd - and so on.

"Have you finished preparing your speech for tomorrow?" Troy asked.

"I had. But now we think we're going to have to change it, just after talking to more people and getting the vibe for what people think about our ideas."

"I've had a pretty good response. The cheerleaders seem to have rebelled against Julia - especially now that Paula has been selling you and Ryan's campaign.

"It's hard to tell. There's a lot of fickle people out there. I keep expecting that on Wednesday, Dyan will arrive with a free convertible for everyone as bribery."

Troy snorted.

"Hey Gabriella!" a voice said.

She sighed. "Duty calls." She plastered a smile on her face, and turned around back to the meet, greet and question answering session. In the end - fingers crossed - it would all be worth the effort.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**Author's Note: **I was so absolutely stoked with all of your reviews last chapter guys, you've all been just so lovely and amazing and I truly feel humbled to have so much support. I draw so much of my motivation to write from your support, which I'm sure that anyone who also writes or has ever written can appreciate. So yes... hugely hugely appreciated and I would love to hear from you all again, what you're happy with, what you're not happy with, if there is anything you would like more of or less of or something I can improve... whatever floats your boat! -Dani xo


	10. Chapter 10

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello from the Gold Coast, Australia! No, not another stop... but from my very own laptop in my very own room with my cat sitting meowing beside me and my gorgeous Zac Efron poster staring sexily at me with his hand casually pushing up the white shirt (yeah, it's the Rolling Stone poster). Ahem. Before I get sidetracked... here's the next chapter!

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**Chapter 10**

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

After a whirlwhind of a campaign, the most important day had arrived. Speech day; followed by question and answer time. Lunch period in the auditorium may very well be what was to make or break the campaign. Free period on Tuesday fell just prior to lunch, and Ryan and Gabriella had set down plans to meet to practice their speech one final time.

Gabriella stood waiting at Ryan's locker, foot tapping impatiently. She glanced at the time on her cell. He was ten minutes late. She dialled his number for the third time in the last five minutes. Once again, straight to voicemail. She racked her brain, trying to make sure that they had indeed confirmed it was his locker they were meeting at. Yes, yes it was. And he still wasn't there. She went tearing towards the quad, bypassing her own locker just in case he was there. No luck. She quickly spotted her group of friends.

"Have you seen Ryan?" she asked, somewhat desperately.

"Thought he was with you," Martha said.

"He's MEANT to be except he didn't show up and he's not answering his cell and we scribbled some extra changes to our speech during drama which we haven't gone through yet and so we HAVE to go through this before the speech and he decides to disappear off the face of the planet!"

"Gabriella. Chill," Troy said soothingly.

She paused and took a breath. "No one has seen him?"

"He left chem right on time," Chad informed her. "He did seem a bit weird but I didn't think anything of it."

"Great," Gabriella muttered. "If I were Ryan, where would I be?"

"Have you looked in the auditorium?"

It wasn't any of her friends who had spoken. She spun around to see Sharpay standing, hovering nearby.

"Uh... no. We weren't gonna meet there because we figured the other candidates would be in that area."

"Look backstage. I'd try the costume room. It's like... his little place he goes to. You know, like Troy's garden that he thinks no one knows about."

"Hey!" Troy exclaimed. "How did you know... okay... not the time."

"Thanks Sharpay," Gabriella said.

Sharpay shrugged. "Whatever."

Gabriella's legs had never moved as quickly as they moved in the next couple of minutes. There were just twenty minutes remaining to find Ryan and practice and time a seven minute speech; and make any changes necessary. She didn't even have time to contemplate Sharpay's sudden good willed gesture. She beelined straight for the costume room.

And there he was, wearing a crown and cape, standing in front of the full length mirror.

_"To thee and thine hereditary ever  
Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom;  
No less in space, validity, and pleasure,  
Than that conferr'd on Goneril. Now, our joy,  
Although the last, not least; to whose young love  
The vines of France and milk of Burgundy  
Strive to be interess'd; what can you say to draw  
A third more opulent than your sisters? Speak."_

Gabriella hesitantly took a step forward, Ryan spotting her reflection in the mirror.

"Didn't think you'd find me."

"I got a tip off."

"Shar?"

"Yup."

"Damn her."

"Ryan, is this really the time to be dressing up and reciting Shakespeare? It was very good and everything but... we kinda did arrange to meet."

Ryan turned around, taking off the crown and placing it on a table.

"I must have lost my mind ever thinking that I could do this. Costumes and Shakespeare I can do. Throw in a merry song and dance and I'm even better. But... class office? Who are we kidding?"

"Ryan, you have been amazing so far!"

"It's all a show though, all this stuff. Working out the best way to present yourself. But let's say we win, let's say that people actually took Sharpay's shadow seriously - as if I have the ability to LEAD people."

"Firstly, I take issue with the inference that you are Sharpay's shadow. The fact that you and I are doing this independent of Sharpay is proof that you are more than that. And secondly, I already have gone through with you all the reasons why you can do this. Why you would be a great person for the job. That you have both personality and passion and a desire to make things better for everyone."

"I think you're confusing me with yourself," Ryan remarked.

"Ryan, we can't pull out now."

"Oh, there's no way that YOU'RE pulling out. You should have wanted to run all along, this is so for you it's not funny. But maybe... maybe I shouldn't be doing this. It would be wrong to run and be elected and then not be able to do it properly or..."

Gabriella thwacked him across the arm. "You're just being ridiculous now. We're not talking about being president of the country here. You'll be running a team of people who will organise bake sales and pep rallies and fundraising events and school dances. It's not rocket science."

"It's way more than that, our whole platform is based on the fact that we want it to be more than that!" Ryan exclaimed, horrified that Gabriella would make such an insinuation.

"Yeah but like you said it's all show. Like we could actually CHANGE anything. Like we actually have any ability to impact upon curriculum or budget decisions or..."

"Of course we could! If we backed up our ideas with research and rounded up support!"

Gabriella crossed her arms, smiling smugly. "You really sound like a guy who isn't capable of doing this."

Ryan stared at her. "You're crafty."

"I am no ordinary running mate," she returned with a smile.

"Far from ordinary."

"Seriously Ryan, I think that we can do this and I think that we could be really good at it. As a team, you and me. I don't think we will be like the stereotype of what class office teams are normally like which is good. That's our premise. That we want change. That it should be about more than just someone pretty and popular."

He sighed. "I know, I know."

"Anyway, more importantly... I think you should be doing it for you. There's a reason you wanted to do it in the first place. To show that Ryan Evans is an awesome guy, that he's more than just Sharpay's shadow."

"And like how you want to do it to show that you're more than Troy Bolton's girlfriend?" Ryan returned.

Gabriella gave him a small smile. "Maybe."

Ryan took a deep breath and glanced at his watch. "Okay. Just enough time to run through the speech."

"So you're in?"

"I'm in."

… … …

In many ways it had been like the lead up to Twinkle Towne the year before. Gabriella had been the nervous one in the lead up, but when it came to crunch time it had been Troy who had nearly buckled under the pressure. Gabriella had been so focused on making sure Ryan made it on stage without running away again that she didn't have time to think about her own nerves. There was only a brief moment in the minute before their speech where she suddenly felt her throat go dry. But looiking at their group of friends in the very centre of the room was enough to pull her through. Troy blew her a little kiss, making her blush. She knew there and then that she could do it. That THEY could do it.

And do it they did. Ryan and Gabriella's speech had a thunderous applause; and lots of students were smiling and nodding in response to the answers they had provided during question and answer segment. Beyond 'better cafeteria food' and 'band at prom' - there wasn't a lot of substance to their key opponents campaign.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

However it was Wednesday which was crunch time. Students had until the end of lunch period to cast their votes in the student administration office. Classes were then let out fifteen minutes early to allow for the seniors to make their way to the auditorium to hear the announcement of who had been successful with the vote - with the announcement being made over the PA for the rest of the school. Gabriella was gripping onto Troy's hand so tightly that he had slight fingernail indentations in his skin. Upon arrival, she went to head to the stage to sit beside Ryan and and the other nominees. Troy grabbed her by the arm.

"Hey. Good luck," he said softly, leaning forward and kissing her softly.

She squeezed his hand gratefully. "Thanks."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Basketball practice was simply going to have to be pushed back by fifteen minutes or so. Well, that, or go ahead without Troy, Chad, Jason and Zeke. The mob of people surrounding Ryan and Gabriella waiting to congratulate, hug and chat to them about their plans was overwhelming. Troy was growing impatient. Finally he just pushed through the crowd, grabbed Gabriella's arm and pulled her away from the conversation she was engaged in. The look on her face was one of annoyance until she realised whose hand it was on her arm.

"I bet you're sick of being told 'oh my God congratulations' so I will just do this," Troy declared, and pulled her in for a deep, lingering kiss - not caring about the assortment of teachers present who might choose to interrupt with a 'no PDA' reminder.

Gabriella pulled away a little breathlessly, smiling brightly. "Okay I think you should just keep doing that on behalf of all the 'oh my God congratulations' people," she said with a giggle.

Another arm caught a hold of Gabriella - it was Taylor's arm.

"Oh my God congratulations!" Taylor squealed, wrapping her arms around her friend in a tight hug.

From Taylor however, the comment wasn't fake or forced. It was completely genuine.

"You're a hard woman to get to, we've all been at the back here waiting politely for the mob to disappear. Troy led the way and just pushed them all away."

"I feel kind of bad. All these people are coming up and telling me they voted for us and I don't even know who we are. Can you all maybe go through the yearbook with me and tell me about, like, everyone in the year?"

It was easy to forget that Gabriella was still relatively new at East High, in contrast to the rest of them who had been going to school together for years.

Ryan came over, grabbing Gabriella. "Hey, the school paper want a photo."

"Ryan buddy, good work," Troy said, his tone completely genuine.

He held out his hand. It was a handshake which symbolised a whole lot more than just a hand shake of congratulations. Ryan looked Troy straight in the eye, nodding. "Thanks man. You guys have helped so much, we couldn't have done it without you."

"Where are the school paper people?" Gabriella asked.

"Backstage."

She turned back to Troy and Taylor. "Duty calls," she apologised. "Hey! You have to get to practice. You have a team to get ready for the season."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Yes Coach."

Gabriella smiled. "I'll talk to you later, okay? Thanks so much guys, seriously. Ryan was right - we couldn't have done it without you."

"Come on," Ryan said, tugging at her arm.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming."

As he led her away, Ryan leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Thank you."

… … …

No one noticed the pretty blonde haired girl sitting at the back of the auditorium; dressed in pink and adorned with accessories. Sharpay was watching the stage as Ryan had his arm around Gabriella. They were posing for several photographs together. Her eyes were narrowed, her lip quivering slightly.

No one noticed, that is, except for one.

"Hey," Troy said quietly, sliding into the seat beside her.

"Don't you have practice?" Sharpay asked.

"Meh. I'm already like fifteen minutes late. What's another few minutes?"

"I guess."

"You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Troy sighed. "Well, you're sitting here looking like you're gonna burst into tears. Sorry if that gave the impression you might have been upset."

"I'm fine Troy," Sharpay said softly. "You know, my twin brother and pretty much the only person who can stand me will now have even less time to care about me or what I am doing. I'm just fucking fantastic."

"I don't think he's doing it to spite you, Sharpay. Shouldn't you be happy for him? I mean, it's something he really wanted to do."

Sharpay shrugged. "Whatever."

"Do you..."

"Go to practice Troy. I don't wanna talk about it."

"Shar..."

"Troy. I mean it."

Troy nodded, and stood up. "If you change your mind... I'm around."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Thursday's physical education class was a health science theory day, Troy's least favourite day. He preferred to be out on the oval, in the gym, anywhere other than in a classroom. It was however one of only two classes that he and his friends all had together, so it wasn't all bad. Chad had dragged his chair over to Troy's desk as they were asked to break into pairs to discuss the diagram on Page 92. Or, you know, pretend to talk about the diagram and talk about other stuff.

"Did you wanna hang together this afternoon?" Chad asked, referring to their half day, being able to leave at the beginning of lunch period.

Troy shook his head. "Sorry man, I'm busy. I'm going to Gabi's to study. We're making it a regular thing."

Chad raised his eyebrows, a sly smile. "Study… right… so that's what the cool kids call it these days do they?"

"No really. I'm going to Gabi's to study."

And he was serious. With Troy's sudden decision to work really hard during his final year of school, he had decided Gabi had the right idea in the first week when she had suggested they study together.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

On Thursday as the final period before lunch - being the final period of the day - came to a close, Gabriella practically sprinted to meet Troy at his locker.

"Ready?" she asked brightly.

He looked at her, amused. "You're like a machine, Gabi. You've just had a crazy few days. And we have a whole half day off for the first time ever and you are all excited about studying?"

She gave him a small smile. "I like routine... and... and I like spending time with you. It doesn't make it feel like studying, you know?"

The smile he returned was genuine. "Yeah, I do know."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Troy would go to Gabriella's and they would sit in her room and study. Sometimes together, whether it be doing research for assignments they had in common for Economics or Physics, or Gabriella helping Troy with his Trig. Sometimes separately, when Gabriella was focusing on Calculus II and Troy was working on his PE work – yes, there was the health science side of the theory. Troy found it motivating, having someone so dedicated to her work in the room. And Gabriella found that it was helping to feed her constant urge to have Troy around. If she tried to study when he wasn't there, she was increasingly finding it difficult to concentrate, with her thoughts drifting to Troy and his gorgeous smile, soulful eyes, spectacular abs…

Gabriella was sitting at her desk, just doing homework. The monotony of every day life could be a drag; but there were also times when it was a comfort. Troy was sitting back on her bed, meant to be reading a textbook. Instead he found himself gazing at Gabriella that afternoon, just doing the every day things that she always did. He had watched her do them dozens of times, probably more. It never failed to fascinate him. He never failed to love the way she would concentrate really hard, chewing on her pen, her brow furrowed. She would speak softly to herself, as if talking through the problem. Then she would inevitably figure it out – as her brain always allowed her to do. A flurry of writing, more murmurs, this time more positive. And then she would pop the pen down on the desk and look satisfied with her work.

It hit him right then, a sudden epiphany. He'd kind of known for a long time, possibly since he met her, if you could believe that. He'd felt indescribable feelings, Gabriella had become the completely central figure in his life. But he hadn't really, truly understood. He hadn't been prepared to put a label to those feelings.

The movies would have you believe that the most important things in life that need to be said should be expressed in moments of grandeur.

Troy had nearly lost Gabriella over summer.

Grandeur no longer seemed like a necessity. What was more important was Gabriella knowing he wasn't going to take her for granted. That he not only wanted - but more importantly he **needed **her in his life. She was completely indispensable. That it was her very being which provided meaning to his days.

"I love you," he said softly.

Gabriella spun around in her chair. She still had the end of her pen in her mouth. Here she was, settled into her calculus homework, immersed within a very different world. And three tiny yet giant words later, she suddenly was in a completely different world. The world of Troy Bolton. She coughed, and removed the pen from her mouth, placing it carefully onto the desk.

"I'm sorry would you mind repeating that?" Gabriella said, trying to keep her voice even.

"I love you," Troy said, a little more emphatically. He stood from his place on her bed, and went over to her desk, taking her by the hands and bringing her to stand up with him. "It uh… I know I probably should have led in with some speech about how amazing and special and beautiful and incredible you are but… I wasn't planning to say it. It just hit me. And I thought you should know, because I never, ever want you to doubt my feelings. So there it is. I'm hopelessly in love with you."

It would be easy for Gabriella Montez to have bouts of jealousy in regards to her boyfriend. As Taylor had made so clear to her back during her first days at East High, there were many girls vying for his attention. And why wouldn't they? He was absolutely, breathtakingly stunning; he was not only a hot shot basketballer but the captain; and more importantly, he was a nice guy. Decent to everyone around him, down to earth – the boy next door. But jealousy had never really been a problem for Gabriella. Sure, there were moments when a cheerleader would brazenly greet him with a flirtatious wink right in front of her that would cause anger to brim. However, even when Sharpay had spent half of summer trying to steal him away, the issue for Gabriella had never really been about Sharpay. It was about Troy, and the way he was treating the people around him.

Looking at Troy that afternoon, she knew it. Gabriella had felt it since the very beginning days of the relationship, since those beginning dates where everything was a little awkward and yet flirtatiously perfect. She'd been sure of it since summer. Telling Troy that she had to leave him - had been the moment she'd known. It's funny how sometimes, it takes losing something to know how much it means to you. But she hadn't said anything.

Somewhere deep down, she knew that he felt it too. Troy's eyes gave it away. When he would look at her with his soulful blue eyes, gazing into her very inner core, he allowed her to see inside. He gave it all away. Just one look from Troy, just the one glance in her direction - had the power to quell any fits of jealousy. There had never been any doubt about where his devotion was placed. And there was no doubt that his words were completely genuine, completely heartfelt, completely sincere.

"I know," she replied softly. "And I love you too."

Troy's face broke into a wide smile. When the words had slipped out of his mouth, he didn't care about whether it was reciprocal, he hadn't had the time to contemplate 'what if she doesn't say it back'. It had just come out in that moment of clarity. However in the moments following his speech, in those few short moments that Gabriella had taken to process the information - that was when his brain had gone to that place. When it had occurred to him that these three tiny yet enormous words perhaps shouldn't have been thrown around so haphazardly.

Hearing them back made those short moments of blind terror and panic completely worth it.

"Really?" he breathed. "You do?"

Gabriella nodded. "I love you, Troy Bolton."

As lips gravitated together for a kiss; tongues probing; hands clawing - suddenly it was as though standing kissing one another didn't allow them to be as close together as desired. Troy instinctively guided them toward the bed, pulling her down on top of him. The kisses had started out being soft and languorous. But once they fell onto the bed, they became intense, heated, furious kisses. Legs were entwined, as though trying to maximise body contact. Gabriella's left foot was caressing up and down Troy's bare right calf. Troy shifted his weight so he was almost directly on top of Gabriella, pulling away from her lips momentarily to trail his kisses along her neck.

He nipped at the spot just below her ear, before whispering breathily, "I love you."

Gabriella's eyes fluttered open, her dark chocolate brown eyes meeting his cerulean blue gaze.

"I love you," she replied, a little breathlessly

She then forcefully pulled him towards her, attacking his lips with her own. She brought her right knee up, forming an upside down V. Troy's hand was running up and down her side, over her lip and caressing her bare outer thigh. As Troy returned her fervent kisses with equal vigour, she was clinging to the back of his head, raking her fingers through his hair. He knew that there was no way she could be oblivious to the evidence of his attraction to her at that moment.

They didn't hear the knock at the door, they didn't hear the door creaking open. It was only when Elena Montez cleared her throat that Troy and Gabriella pulled apart. Troy quickly shifted his weight back off of Gabriella, both sitting up quickly.

"Mom," Gabriella croaked. "I didn't hear you come home."

Elena held out the phone in her right hand. "Troy, your mother is on the phone. It seems you didn't answer your cell. She wants to know if you'll be home for dinner. You're welcome to stay here if you like."

Troy took the phone from Elena's hand. "Err… thanks," he said awkwardly.

Elena stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. Troy brought the phone to his ear.

"Hi mom," he said, trying to sound calm.

"Hi honey. Are you staying at the Montez's for dinner?"

"Uh… just hang on a sec…" Troy covered the mouthpiece.

"Fuck. Shit damn fuck," Troy exclaimed.

"Troy, it's okay," Gabriella said soothingly.

"Should I stay?" he whispered. "After she saw that? Or…. Should I just go home?"

"Stay," Gabriella said immediately.

He nodded, and brought the phone back up to his ear. "Uh yeah, sorry. I'm gonna stay here for dinner, I won't be late though."

… … … … … … … … … … … …

Troy stayed for dinner, remaining downstairs with Gabriella for the rest of the evening under the watchful eyes of Elena Montez. He engaged in polite conversation, in an attempt to remind her that he was a lot more than just sex crazed maniac. That he was actually a good, motivated young man who was highly suitable to be dating her daughter. At a far earlier time than he would normally leave, he let out a fake yawn.

"Well I have homework and I think it's time to have an early night. Lots of basketball practice coming up."

Gabriella smirked at the lack of subtley of Troy's attempt to escape, but nevertheless just quietly walked him out to his truck. She didn't blame him for feeling a little uncomfortable and wanting to leave.

"I'll see you in the morning, okay?" he murmured, caressing her chin slightly.

She nodded, pressing her lips to his gently, and pulling away, lingering just away from his face.

"I love you," she said softly, earnestly.

"And I love you," he returned immediately, just as earnestly.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

When Chad stepped into Troy's truck the next morning, all it took was one glance over at his friend to know that something was up.

"Dude, what happened?" Chad asked.

Troy just smiled. "Nothing."

Chad had known Troy long enought to know when he was very clearly not going to budge. That moment was one of those. Taylor also stepped into the truck and couldn't him but notice the faraway gaze on Troy's face.

"Should you be driving? You look high or something," she said suspiciously.

"I'm absolutely fine," Troy insisted.

They pulled up at Gabriella's house and Troy jumped out to greet her at the door, feeling slightly wary as he approached. He rang the bell hesitantly, and was relieved when Gabriella came immediately and opened it.

"Morning beautiful," he greeted her, glancing around.

"She's not here," Gabriella said knowingly. "Already at work."

"Did she lecture you after I left last night?"

"No. But then again I didn't give her the opportunity."

Gabriella went to pick up her shoulder bag, but Troy grabbed her by the arm, pulling her in close to him.

"I love you," he said quietly, gazing into her eyes.

"You might have to keep saying it for me to believe that this is real," Gabriella admitted, blushing a little.

"I will say it over and over and over and over and over if I need to," Troy said. "I love you I love you I love you I love you. My God that feels good. Like I've been keeping it inside forever and ever, but now that it's out I just want to shout it from the rooftop. Can I shout it from the rooftop?"

Gabriella giggled. "No, you can't. You'd probably fall down and break your neck."

"Okay then I'll just keep saying it here. I love you."

She kissed him softly. " I love you too."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile, Chad had ran around to sit in the backseat with Taylor, and the two peered out the window, watching the long winded kiss that took place on the door step. The same faraway gaze that was on Troy's face was on Gabriella's. "What you think happened?" Chad asked his girlfriend.

"Something. They'll tell us sooner or later."

"And then we'll discuss it?"

Taylor smiled. "Of course. That's how this little group works. We all know everything about everyone else."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"You think Chad and Tay are done spying yet?" Troy murmured into Gabriella's ear.

She suavely glanced toward the truck. "I couldn't care less."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

When Gabriella went to her locker between second and third period, she found a scrap of paper in her locker. Three words were all that were necessary.

_I love you._

She arrived at third period economics class, took her seat beside Troy. She lazily ran her finger over his arm, tracing the words.

_I love you._

Troy flicked a smile in her direction.

"Wanna go up to the garden during our spare next?" he asked softly.

She looked at him ruefully. "I have to meet with Ryan. We're going over the applications for student council."

"Oh..."

"Umm... maybe at lunch?" she suggested, a sly smile.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Sitting in Calculus II, Gabriella's brain was anywhere but on the Calculus. Especially since for the first time ever, she hadn't finished the homework. She'd been distracted by Troy and those three litle words.

_I love you._

Not that she minded.

But now, her brain was not only on the three little words. It was on the session which followed the three little words, it was on the lunch time rendezvous. Gabriella Montez was planning to meet up with her boyfriend in a secret location. And all that she could think about is that - after wolfing down sandwiches - they would have a whole half hour to themselves, a half hour where she could feel his lips on hers and her lips on his.

A note dropped onto her desk.

**You gonna tell me what happened?**

Gabriella glanced over at Taylor, who was looking straight ahead. Gabriella scribbled back.

_Wanna come over this afternoon? I think I need girl talk. Wait. I KNOW I need girl talk._

Taylor smiled slightly reading the note, and nodded slightly.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

At basketball practice that afternoon, Troy's head was NOT in the game. It was far FROM the game. His head was in Gabriella's bedroom and on Gabriella's front door step and in the science club garden and now - after drama class - in the backstage of the auditorium. Where his four hottest make out sessions to date - with anyone, not just Gabriella - had taken place, all in the last 24 hours. Normally he would be cursing himself for allowing his thoughts to be wandering so far away that he missed a simple free throw. But he didn't care in the slightest.

When they took a quick break, Chad was quick to drag him away.

"Dude. You have to tell me what happened."

Troy looked his friend at the eye. "Hang out tonight after practice?"

Chad nodded. "A necessity, I think."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **It seems somewhat poignant to be posting what is such a monumental chapter on the day of my return... a day when I am filled with such incredibly vast, spaced out emotions that I don't know whether to be excited to be home or cry because I don't want to return to the real world. Anyway. So yes, monumental chapter, drastically important; not just with the ILY but a whole bunch of other bits and pieces going on BEFORE the ILY moment. But yes... specifically about the second half, I've read about eight thousand fics entailing the all important ILY moment and I am curious to know how you think this stands up. I wanted to do it somewhat differently, in a world of normalacy rather than in that moment of grandeur - as Troy epiphanises. So it isn't as dramatic I've read with some life or death revelation, or humourous with... pants... or any other way that I've read it. But yeah... I hope you can appreciate the angle I took. So please review, I really would like to know what you thought.

-Dani xo


	11. Chapter 11

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**Chapter 11**

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Gabriella was sitting on her bed, playing with the stuffed Wildcat Troy had give her for her birthday the previous year. Taylor was sitting at Gabriella's desk, waiting expectantly.

"Tay… you and Chad uh… you've done stuff right?"

Taylor looked up sharply at her friend. "Stuff… sexually?" Gabriella nodded. "Yeah we've done stuff. Hands a wandering and… a lot more."

"That's what I thought," Gabriella said.

"Gabriella, if you want my advice, then you're going to have to just spit it out. We're both mature, you can talk about this stuff with me," Taylor encouraged her.

"Troy told me that he loves me yesterday," Gabriella said softly.

Taylor squealed. "Oh my God! Are you serious? Of course you're serious, of course he loves you. I mean, it's written all over his face every time he looks at you. But he SAID it, he really SAID it? Did you say it first?"

"No, he did."

"Wow," Taylor breathed. "And you said it back?"

"Well, yes."

"Of course you did. And then what happened?"

"Well... we were kissing…"

"Of course you were."

"Well yeah. And it got… it was really heated."

"Did something happen?"

"No. But…"

Gabriella paused, trying to find the words. She didn't talk about this stuff, ever really, so it was difficult to discuss it openly.

"We're really serious. In terms of… our feelings. But… we haven't really done anything. Physically. I mean, until summer, when Troy and I would kiss… well normally we would be like say, sitting on the couch, or standing up. Not really close. I mean of course we were close but our bodies weren't fully touching. And say, his hands would be on my hips, or my face. This summer, there were a few times when we were lying down and we would start kissing. One day we were in his room, and then there was at the country club out on the golf course, and one day by the river… and then there was…"

Taylor held her hand up, silencing Gabriella. "I don't need that much detail. What's your point?"

"Right. So we were kissing and I was right on top of him at times… or… he would be on top of me… and… I felt… he got... I felt his…"

"He got hard," Taylor supplied.

"Yes."

"Which as we all were reminded when doing sex ed, is a normal male bodily function."

"I know that. But it made me think about what Troy is feeling when we're kissing. I mean… Troy is my first real boyfriend. We're seniors in high school. We… we love each other. It has really hit me that he will probably be thinking that we should be… taking steps in our relationship. Physically. And… if he's having that reaction then he'd probably thinking about… about those steps."

"Gabriella you keep talking about what Troy is thinking and feeling – how do **you** feel about it?"

Gabriella bit her lip. "How do you know when you're ready?"

Taylor thought for a moment. "You just... feel it. I can't explain it in any other way. It feels right."

Gabriella nodded. "I think... I think it's right. I mean… I'm not ready to go all the way, not just yet. But maybe soon. When we're together and he's kissing me… I always want more. Yesterday, I really really really wanted more. I want the stuff, like you and Chad, I guess…"

"Well I can assure you that Troy, being a teenage boy, will have no opposition to that."

"I'm scared though," she confessed. "I'm so scared of losing him."

"Losing him?" Taylor asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Right now... it's just so good. It's... it's as close to perfect as it has ever been. And I love him so much and I'm scared that if we start... you know... doing stuff.. and what if it goes wrong?"

"If anything, I think you'll become closer," Taylor said. "There's... there's another barrier of trust that you break through when you go down this road. And I don't think it's natural for you to suppress these urges just because you're 'scared'."

"Urges?" Gabriella asked, a smile toying on her lips.

"You're telling me that when you and Troy are getting hot and heavy, that you don't feel the URGE for more? There's just no other word for it."

The blush on Gabriella's cheeks was proof that she knew exactly what Taylor was referring to. "Well I guess we wouldn't be having this conversation if I didn't," Gabriella said. "I SEE him and... and I want more."

Taylor was watching the lust filled look on Gabriella's face. "Gabriella... I think it's time."

"I think you're right but... how do I... I mean... Troy's not going to push. At all. He has not once tried anything, he keeps his hands away from… from certain places. He's probably waiting for me to give him a sign that it's okay."

"Then you need to initiate it."

"Me?" Gabriella said incredulously. "I wouldn't even know what to do… how to… how to do anything."

"Do you want me to tell you?" Taylor asked.

Gabriella blushed. "Oh… you don't have to…"

Taylor shrugged. "It's up to you. I don't mind telling you about it, if you can stand having the mental imagery of Chad in your brain."

Gabriella giggled. "He's a good looking guy so I think I can handle that. But… if you feel weird."

"No, I don't feel weird telling you. In fact I think I want to talk about it… I haven't been able to tell anyone in detail because I didn't think you wanted to hear!"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

After dropping Zeke and Jason off at home, Troy and Chad went for a drive to the mall. Large Coca Cola's were purchased, and a seat was taken in the back corner of the food court. Chad sat waiting expectantly for the big announcement.

"I told Gabi that I love her yesterday afternoon," Troy said quietly.

Big announcement was understatement of the century. For possibly the first time in Chad Danforth's life – he was speechless.

"Wow," Chad finally managed to say.

"Yeah. It was… intense," Troy said.

"And she… she said it too?"

"Yeah."

Chad had known that it was serious. But... those three words... when you're seventeen, they aren't just thrown around haphazardly. He studied his friend carefully.

"How did you know?"

"I just knew," Troy answered honestly. "Like… like how you just intrinsically breathe. I just… I just knew. It just hit me that I knew it, I didn't even know that I knew it. And then I said it, right there and then, I didn't think about it because if I thought about it then I would have gotten freaked and worried she wouldn't say it back."

"That's uh… wow. I knew you were serious but… that's… that's big. That's VERY serious."

"It is. But big in a good way," Troy said thoughtfully.

"You're not freaked by it at all?"

"Nah. I thought I would be but I'm not, not at all. The make out session afterwards was pretty hot," Troy added slyly. "But her mom walked in on it."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. It could have been worse. She didn't throw me out. She invited me to stay for dinner actually. I think she just wanted us to come downstairs," Troy mused.

"You reckon it would have gone further if she hadn't walked in?"

Troy shrugged. "Dunno."

"Would you have tried something?

"Dunno."

Chad rolled his eyes. "You're hopeless."

"Part of me wants to try something," Troy said honestly. "It feels natural for things to keep going. I want more. I really really really want more. I have to repress doing more, I have to stop and remind myself that I can't try for more. I really don't want to be that guy to push her. I mean… she got all freaked when we first started making out last semester. I don't want to freak her out again."

"Dude, that was like six months ago. More than six months ago! It's come a long way since then. Hello, the L word!"

"Yeah yeah I know."

"Look… I've seen how she looks at you. I won't pretend to understand the female mind, let alone the mind of a female as complex as your girlfriend but… she gives you that look. And you know… you've said the big L word so that should make her want to do it."

"I didn't say it so I can get some action. I said it because that's how I feel," Troy said quietly.

"I know. But, side benefit and all."

Troy rolled his eyes - but at the same time couldn't help but contemplate Chad's words. "I guess the fact that she feels that way too means that she might be more inclined to explore that side of the relationship," Troy mused.

"If you want to rephrase what I said with big words to make yourself feel better, sure, that's exactly right."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile at the Evans household, the family were sitting down for a nutritious dinner as prepared by the chef. Ryan looked down happily at the rump steak which had been placed in front of him.

"This looks great Marci," he complimented the larger woman.

"Thank you Mr Evans, hopefully you enjoy it."

"Is that fat?" Sharpay asked, poking at the steak.

"Oh Shar, grow up, just cut it off if you don't want to eat it," Ryan said with a sigh.

Sharpay shot him a dirty look.

"So son, hard at work already as class president?" Mr Evans asked. "I still cannot believe you were voted for. So proud of you son. You know I was class president back in my senior year of high school."

Ryan smiled. "Yeah, you told me that dad."

"I'm sure you will do a lovely job sweetheart," Mrs Evans said primly. "And Gabriella will also do such a lovely job with you. I've heard lots of wonderful things about that girl."

Sharpay stabbed her steak with her steak knife, slicing into it rather violently.

"Yeah, she's pretty awesome," Ryan said. "Couldn't have done it without her."

"You should throw a party or something, to celebrate!" Mrs Evans suggested.

Ryan winced. After the cocktail party, he wasn't sure if he wanted to throw another big party any time soon. "Actually, I did want to ask you a favour."

"Yes son?"

"I don't suppose your company stretch limo is available on Friday night at all?"

"I'm not sure. I can check though. Why?"

"Our Homecoming Dance is next Friday night. All of my friends helped Gabriella and I so much with the campaign. I thought it would be nice if we could all go together, and I could provide that for them, as a thank you."

"That is a wonderful idea sweetheart," Mrs Evans gushed. "I'm sure we can make sure the limo is available."

Ryan glanced at Sharpay, who was now chewing on a mouthful of steak. "Did you want to come with us, Shar?"

She shook her head, swallowing. "No. No I don't."

Ryan sighed. "Okay."

Dinner proceeded without any further drama. Ryan's cell phone rang just as he finished with his vegetables, and he excused himself from the table.

"Why don't you want to go to the dance in the limo with your friends, Princess?" Mr Evans asked.

"They are Ryan's friends. Not mine."

"I'm sure you are their friend also," Mrs Evans said. "Marci? How about that dessert?"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

At promptly 5:55 on Saturday night, Taylor heard a car pull up outside. She wanted to be the one to answer the door - so she bound down the stairs and was on the door step before Chad had even gotten out of the car. She peered out, not seeing Chad's mothers car but...

"You like?" Chad asked, a grin on his face, gesturing to his brand new-old car.

Taylor's eyes lit up, running down to meet him. "Oh my God the colour is disgusting and it looks like it's going to fall apart. I love it."

He laughed. "That's what I said. But it was in my budget and mechanically she's in good order. And all I want to do is take it out for a spin because I got it literally an hour ago. But instead, I'm ready to go in and be eaten alive."

Taylor thwacked him on the arm. "Don't let Troy get you nervous. My mom isn't that bad at all. I think she's excited that I finally have a boyfriend to be honest. And my sister isn't here so you won't get asked anything too embarassing."

"That's a relief. Although I like your sister."

"All the boys do."

Chad rolled his eyes. "All right. Let's go in. How do I look?"

Taylor studied him critically. "Smart casual, tick. You could use a haircut but that will never happen, will it?"

Chad shook his head. "You take me with the hair or you don't get me at all."

"I guess I'll put up with the hair then," Taylor said with a smile.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile, Troy and Gabriella were sitting across from one another at the restaurant where they had their first date.

"Wow it feels like a million years ago that we were here last," Gabriella said with a reminiscent sigh.

"Tell me about it. I was so nervous that night, I thought I might puke," Troy confessed.

"We got through it okay."

"Yeah, yeah we did. And here we are now..."

"In love?" she said quietly, a smile toying on her lips.

Troy nodded, his blue orbs sparkling. "It kinda feels too good to be true... I keep thinking I'm gonna wake up and find out it's all a dream. I always thought that I'd be freaked out when this happened. But I'm not in the slightest. It just feels… right… you know? When I said that I wanted to scream it from the rooftops I wasn't kidding. I could go hijack the school PA, get Ryan to organise it for me since he's in charge and all now. And then tell them all, yes that's right, I, Troy Bolton am madly in love with Gabriella Montez!"

Gabriella was staring at him, blushing madly, completely enamoured by his candour. He mistook her quietness for discomfort.

"Oh God, am I freaking you out? I'm freaking you out aren't I? I'm being the woman in this relationship, going all full on and freaking you out."

Gabriella giggled. "I'm surprised, not freaked out."

"Why are you surprised?"

"Because I have the constant voice in my head which tells me that you could never possibly love me as much as I love you. And when you talk like that… it's like that little voice is wrong. That I can actually believe that every morsel of how much I love you… that you do actually feel it too."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Zeke was sitting across from Monica at Burger King.

"I still cannot believe you wouldn't let me take you somewhere nicer than here," Zeke complained.

"Because we're not on a DATE," Monica reminded him. "We are two friends, hanging out, on a Saturday night."

"Two friends who hung out last Saturday night and after school this week and who randomly make out and oh, who have had sex not once but twice?" Zeke pointed out.

Monica smiled slightly. "Feel lucky you even get this, Baylor."

"You think I'm still into Sharpay?"

"Maybe."

"I'm not," Zeke said quietly, but adamantly.

"We'll see about that."

"Maybe if you gave us a proper chance you would see how much I like you, Mon."

"I don't doubt that you like me," she said. "I just... I doubt that you like me as much as you like her."

"It's past tense. I've moved on. I'm here with you, aren't I?"

"Hmm."

"Come to the Homecoming Dance with me next weekend," Zeke said. "Please."

"Billy already asked me."

"What did you tell Billy?" he persisted.

"That I'd think about it," she admitted.

"Come with me."

Monica looked him in the eyes, pausing, contemplating. She'd known the answer from the moment he had asked. "Okay."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"So Chad, what are your plans for the future?" Mrs McKessie asked.

He cleared his throat. "I am very serious about my extra curricular sporting activities. I'm on the Varsity basketball team, and also baseball and I am involved with the track and field program. Ideally I would like to apply to and be selected at a college which excels with its athletics program."

"Interesting. And you see a future in these sports?"

"Chad is really good ma, he was selected for this really exclusive basketball camp over summer," Taylor said, biting her lip.

"I won't lie to you Mrs McKessie, it's a cutthroat world out there with hundreds upon hundreds of kids with dreams to make it in all sorts of different sports. I just apply myself 100 to my game. There are lots of opportunities to be involved within the sporting community without actually becoming a professional athlete."

Chad was now grateful that he had gone and had a conversation with the careers counsellor - if nothing else, it provided him with something to placate Taylor's mom that he wasn't completely deluded. Taylor thew him a quick smile when her mom left the room to go get refills for their drinks.

"You're doing fine," she whispered.

Mrs McKessie returned with three more lemonades.

"So were you kids going out somewhere tonight? I'm sure you want to take that car of yours for a drive," she said.

Chad cleared his throat. "Only if that's okay with you, ma'am."

"It's about time Taylor wasn't sitting aroung at home every Saturday night."

"Ma!" Taylor exclaimed.

"It's true!"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Gabriella and Troy were finished with their meal and were walking hand in hand back to his truck in the car park.

"Uh… did you want to go to a movie again?" Troy suggested.

"Why spend ten dollars to sit in a dark room to do something we could just do in your truck?" Gabriella said wryly.

"Well I was hoping that was what we were going to do but I wasn't going to just suggest we make out in my truck now, was I? I was at least trying to be discrete about it!" Troy replied with a sheepish smile.

"Lose the discretion. Let's face it. We make out a lot. I'm okay with that. And surely you're okay with that."

"I'm VERY okay with that!"

"Well then. It's all okay, okay?"

"Okay."

Gabriella giggled. "Kiss me now."

"We're not even sitting in the truck yet."

"I don't care."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Chad did take Taylor out for a spin in his car - two blocks away to the ice cream parlour.

"I shouldn't eat ice cream," Taylor said quietly.

Chad groaned. "Oh God. You're one of these randomly going on a diet chicks, aren't you? How did I not know this?"

Taylor looked at him, amused. "I think you will struggle to find any female who doesn't randomly go on a diet."

"You're gorgeous just like you are," he declared.

"I am?" she said quietly.

He looked at her in the eyes. "Yes. Yes you are."

She blushed, taking a spoonful of the sundae in front of her.

"So Troy and Gabriella seem to be getting very serious," Taylor remarked.

"Scarily serious. Very very very scarily serious."

There was something in Chad's tone which Taylor had wondered whether would surface.

"I don't expect you to suddenly say it to me Chad," Taylor said quietly.

"Thank God. Because… because you know I'm not ready for that."

"I'm not ready for that either. I'm having fun just hanging with you, just doing our thing," Taylor said honestly.

"Tay…"

"Yeah?"

"I could though."

"You could what?"

"Love you. I mean… I'm not ready for that depth now but… if I was… It'd be you."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Jason felt like it was deja vu all over again. Another Saturday night and he was sitting home alone. Another Saturday night where he knew that both Troy and Chad were with their girlfriends. Another Saturday night where Zeke had been vague about what he was doing but adamant that he was busy.

But this time, there was no logging onto MSN necessary. His cell phone rang.

"Hey!" Kelsi said brightly. "I was bored and umm... yeah... are you busy? Is this a bad time?"

"I'm not busy in the slightest. Sad, huh?"

"We can be sad together then," Kelsi said.

Jason grinned. "Totally."

"So. What did you do today?"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The back half of the west parking lot of the Cottonwood Mall in Albuquerque was known locally as the place for teenagers to go sit around in their parked cars when they felt the need to escape the watchful eyes of their parents.

"I love you," Troy murmured in between a series of short, sweet kisses.

"I love you more," Gabriella's breathy response came, as she clung to his shirt, pulling him closer towards her.

A knock on the window of Troy's truck separated the young couple. Troy groaned, fearing that the cops had shown up. But no, it was even worse than that.

Chad was smirking at him, waving. Troy opened the door.

"Do you SEEK us out to interrupt us?" he exclaimed. "Seriously, dude."

"Nah man. Was here and saw you. Complete coincidence. Come check out my wheels!"

"You have wheels?" Troy asked incredulously.

"Is Taylor here?" Gabriella asked.

"No, I like to hang around in parking lots on my own on Saturday nights," Chad said sarcastically. "Of course she's here. Come on."

Surely enough, just beyond several other cars filled with making out couples, was Chad's new old car.

"What a heap of shit," Troy remarked.

"It's great, isn't it?" Taylor said, poking her head out from the window.

"It's no worse than Troy's," Gabriella offered.

"My truck at least has CHARACTER," Troy said defensively.

"At least I PAID for my car. Yours was provided for you," Chad said smugly.

"I spent six months with my dad fixing up the heap of shit!"

"Ahh, you agree it's a heap of shit hey?"

While the boys were bantering, Taylor and Gabriella were having a silent conversation through their eyes and slight motions of the head. A conversation which basically went - 'Did you do it' followed by Gabriella's response of 'No, I freaked out.'

"Okay you've seen it. You can go back to making out now," Chad said cheerfully.

"Okay. Come on," Troy said, pulling on Gabriella's hand.

She had no objection whatsoever.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**Author's Note: **Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter and let me know your thoughts, I was really touched by all the lovely things you all said and so stoked that you supported the way that I addressed the ILY issue. As for this chapter, once again, I'm in this era of chapters where there is just a whole heap going on, development within many plot lines and even the creation of even a couple more. I know that there wasn't some pivotal moment like in the last chapter but I'd really love it if you could keep showing your support guys... this is actually a really strange period for me, coming back home and adjusting to where I fit back in at home... and there's this part of me filled with ideas to keep writing and another part which is struggling to write anything at all. So I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions about anything and everything, to give me some motivation.

-Dani xo


	12. Chapter 12

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Audrey - you sent me off the deep end. You know what I mean.

With my severe case of technological retardation, I only just discovered the horizontal ruler button on this text editing page (which anyone who has posted stories should know what I am talking about... I was reading a fic the other night and was pondering PMing the author asking how she got the pretty line to appear... and then thought I might sound like an idiot. And just yesterday I studied that toolbar a little closer and thought, gee, what does this horizontal line button do?) and I am just so incredibly excited. Wow I'm gonna have to go back and reformat the whole story.

Thanks as always (well I forget half the time but the thanks are always there in spirit) go to both Ayen (I will never cease to continue to pimp ZA Angels dot com - GO THERE! Everyone! Now!) and _emptrajan (_who I would love to pimp his work if he would write something more for this fandom because I have no doubt it would be brilliant... hint hint nudge nudge dude) for previewing my chapters... and making lovely intelligent comments which make my crazy brain go OOOHH and add even more.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Troy finally had his wish. He was able to sleep in an extra twenty minutes, and go straight from his house to Gabriella's. This then provided him with the liberty of making out with her for a whole lot longer on the doorstep - without Chad's annoying wolf whistling in the background.

"I'm so glad your mom has started going to work early," he murmured.

"It's so she can be home earlier to make sure we're not doing... anything..." Gabriella murmured back.

"Maybe I'll come earlier in the morning then."

"Okay," was all that Gabriella said. She much preferred that they were making out rather than talking.

* * *

Approaching the crew at school, Ryan called out to them, "Okay hurry up I have an announcement."

"This sounds rather dramatic," Gabriella said with a smile. "An announcement?"

"How is everyone arriving at Homecoming on Friday?" he asked.

They looked at each other. "I was gonna drive... except... were we gonna spike the punch?" Troy mused, glancing at his buddies.

"We have to. It's tradition," Chad said. "We could..."

"Okay shut up!" Ryan said. "You are going to come to my house and then we are going to arrive in a stretch limo!"

The group was silent.

"If you want that is," he added quickly, suddenly dawning upon him that they might not WANT to arrive in a stretch limo.

"A real stretch limo?" Kelsi asked, her eyes sparkling.

"A real one," Ryan confirmed.

"That is so cool!" Gabriella squealed.

"Anyway, there's tonnes of room, so just let me know if you're up for it so I can work out numbers."

"Yes! Yes! Me!" Gabriella said, raising her hand.

Troy cleared his throat. "I guess that's me too then."

Kelsi, Martha, Jason, Taylor and Chad were all quick to sign up as well.

"Uhh... I umm... I'm actually taking someone so I might have to check out the situation there," Zeke said casually, shuffling his feet.

"You're taking someone? When did this happen?" Chad asked.

"Who?" Troy asked.

"Oh... Monica," Zeke said, looking down.

Mandatory wolf whistles ensued from his teammates. "You cracked her down hey?" Chad said approvingly.

"Is that where you've been the last couple of weekends when you blew me off?" Jason asked.

Zeke nodded. "We were just hanging out as friends. It's not... I mean... we're not going out. But... I'm working on it I guess. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. In case, you know, it doesn't happen."

Kelsi glanced at her watch. "Shit, I have to go see Miss Darbus before homeroom. I'll see you guys in there, okay?"

And with that, she disappeared.

"Are you telling me that all three of you guys have dates and I don't?" Jason asked dejectedly.

"Cough cough cough ask Kelsi cough cough cough," was Chad's mature response.

"Seriously. You should," Gabriella said.

Jason sighed. "Maybe... I'll see."

They all knew that was a 'no way in hell but I want you all to shut up'.

"Anyway, are we heading in?" Troy said, motioning to the main building.

When they arrived at homeroom, Kelsi was talking animatedly with Miss Darbus. The crew watched curiously, Kelsi glancing back towards them. Gabriella narrowed her eyes, watching her friend. They were all rather curious as to what the commotion was about - except Ryan, who had a grin on his face. Kelsi skipped back - the first thing she did was thwack Ryan on the arm.

"You KNEW?!" she exclaimed.

Ryan laughed, rubbing his arm. "Yeah I knew, sorry, Darbus wanted to tell you herself. I've been DYING to tell you. And that really hurt!"

"Sorry. But... you knew!!"

"What did you know?" Jason asked.

"My composition was selected for the Fall musical," Kelsi told them, her smile a mile wide.

Gabriella shrieked slightly, jumping up to hug her friend. "Oh my God that is so awesome!"

A series of 'congratulations' rang out from each of them.

"Why did you know?" Troy asked Ryan.

"I'm kinda working as assistant director. I approached Darbus last year and asked her if I could work on more behind the scenes stuff this year."

"Oh oh and and and Gabriella you have to see this!" Kelsi said, rifling through her bag. She pulled out a copy of the official printed script, handing it over.

_Composition by Kelsi Nielsen. Script by Kelsi Nielsen and Gabriella Montez. _

"Kelsi! I didn't WRITE it! All I did was..."

"All you did was make it a hundred million billion trillion times better than it already is and practically rewrite every line of dialogue. Credit where credit is warranted," Kelsi said. "Anyway... this is your copy... I've highlighted Nina's part."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, amused. "What if I don't wanna audition?"

"You will," Kelsi said confidently. "And Ryan, my money is on Justin for you... and uh... Troy... can I suggest you look at Mike?" she said hopefully.

Troy cleared his throat. "Kelsi, seriously, I haven't thought about whether I want to audition."

"And when you think about it you will decide you want to."

"But..."

All of Kelsi's efforts to be discrete about her desire to have Troy play a part in the show were swept out the door with her excitement.

Saved by the bell.

"We will discuss this later," Kelsi said. "Because you HAVE to audition."

"But..."

"Class! Eyes up the front, it is the beginning of yet another week here at East High," Miss Darbus said.

Troy exhaled noisily, his frustration evident to those around him. Gabriella glanced sideways at him. A part of her wanted to scold Kelsi for her bluntness. She had suspected that this would be a touchy issue for Troy. They hadn't actually discussed the notion of the fall musical. But the moment she had read the script, she had fallen in love with it and knew that it was something she wanted to do. Every time she envisaged herself in the role, the only person she could see herself acting across was Troy. Nina and Mike. Mike and Nina. Gabriella and Troy. Troy and Gabriella. It was the new Minnie and Arnold. Except... Troy was his own person. Just because she wanted to audition, didn't mean he had to... right?

Troy sensed Gabriella's eyes upon him. He'd seen her reaction to Kelsi's script, the moment she was raving about it and mentioning this 'Nina' character so slyly, he knew that she wanted to audition. And he wasn't lying - he really hadn't thought about it. He didn't doubt that Kelsi's script was really amazing, but at the same time, he didn't want to box himself into auditioning. To begin with, he wasn't sure if he wanted to take part in another musical. Twinkle Towne had been fun but it had also been gruelling. And even if he wanted to audition, he may very well decide that between his newfound resolve towards maintaining a high level of academic achievement and his committment to the Wildcats; he simply didn't have the time.

* * *

In second period drama class, the official announcement that Kelsi's composition had been selected was made to the class - with an advertisement for auditions attached.

"For those of you bold enough to tackle your creative desires, auditions will take place in two weeks time; Monday afternoon of week 6 of this semester. I encourage all of you to obtain a copy of the sample script and have a look over the roles available. There are a number of roles of varying levels of involvement, meaning that there is no reason for anyone to shy away from participation due to a lack of available time."

* * *

"Didn't you hear Miss Darbus," Kelsi persisted at lunch time, nagging Troy.

Troy sighed. "Kels, I think she was referring to the minor roles. This Mike character you're pushing at me is a main character. Truth is, I just don't know if I'm gonna have time. I'm working really hard with my school work, actually STUDYING. And there's basketball of course. Isn't there even less time to prepare for the fall musical? Like a month? I don't feel like taking the hell of Twinkle Towne and condensing it into a month."

"I wrote this musical to accommodate all of that," Kelsi said, a little desperately. "There's like six main characters, and a lot of medium sized characters. Meaning that none of these roles are anywhere near as big as Arnold. I want lots of people to be able to shine in the spotlight. There are lots of creative people at East High, with different strengths. The different characters allow people with different strengths to be able to play their part."

"You forget that Twinkle Towne rehearsals began after the championships. I have practice 3 days a week after school Kels," Troy said gently. "And our first game of the season is the week of the audition; so I can't even come to the audition without blowing off practice. And then unless Darbus decides to start coordinating rehearsals so that not everyone has to be there all the time..."

Kelsi was becoming desperate, turning to Gabriella. "Please tell me you're going to audition."

Gabriella bit her lip. "Ummm, well, I was thinking I wanted to. But, umm..."

"Without Troy she doesn't want to," Chad finished the sentence.

Gabriella sighed. "That is a very simplistic way of expressing it but... I guess."

Kelsi was looking close to tears. "I spent half my freaking summer writing this script for you guys!"

"Ryan Evans, super assistant director, to the rescue," Ryan spoke up, a slight smile on his face.

"Huh?"

"I can't... I can't confirm anything. But... Troy, do me a favour and at least read over the audition piece over the next few days. I might... I might have some news is all."

"News?" Troy asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I can't say anything more. But just read over it, okay? And you missy," Ryan said, turning to Gabriella. "Will audition regardless of what Troy decides to do."

Gabriella looked like she was about to protest.

"You know you want to. You can't tell me that you don't want to do it without him because you were perfectly prepared to do the talent show without him," Ryan pointed out.

The talent show had been a sore point for the young couple - a sore point which the events of the last five days or so had more or less completely overcome.

"He's right, you know," Troy said quietly. "I think you should make the decision about auditioning regardless of me. I mean... even with Twinkle Towne, it was you who told Miss Darbus that you wanted to audition. And I just... went along with it."

"And then you had a great time..." Kelsi prodded.

Troy sighed. "Kelsi, it's nothing against you. You sound like you're taking this really personally. Truth is, I don't think it would be right if I auditioned then got a part, and then wasn't able to commit myself 100 percent. I'll read over the script and think about it, that's all I can give you."

Kelsi sighed, pouting a little. "Okay. Anyway, I have to go and talk to Miss Darbus."

"I'll come with you," Ryan said quickly, picking up his shoulder bag and following her.

"I upset her, didn't I?" Troy said quietly.

"Yeah but... to be fair, she shouldn't have assumed that we would automatically audition," Gabriella said diplomatically.

"I wonder what Ryan was talking about," Troy mused.

"I think I want to audition for the musical this year," Martha said. "Just a part in the chorus. Kelsi told me there's a few funky upbeat numbers so the dancing should be pretty cool."

Gabriella perked up. "Yes! You should so do it! And Taylor, you should audition too!"

Taylor laughed. "Gabriella, I think the school musical is fantastic and wonderful and brilliant; I support it totally and completely - from my place safely in the crowd. Besides, I wouldn't have time myself I don't think. I'm going to join the debate team."

"Oh? When did this come about?" Chad asked.

"Just today. The rest of the team is all in my Global Studies course - you know when you guys all have your spares? And they need another team member and asked me and I figured, why not?"

"Hey guys, check this out," Jason said, approaching them.

"Where you been at?" Troy asked.

"Getting this." Jason put a flier down on the table. It had a list of the nominees for Homecoming King and Queen.

Taylor peered at the list, and immediately started laughing. "Oh, so I start dating Chad and now I'm elevated to this sort of status? This school is ridiculous."

"Welcome to high school," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes. She'd been nominated for Junior Prom Queen the year before, and was well accustomed to the ridiculous feeling of suddenly being nominated for such a title.

"Gabriella, we have to start campaigning RIGHT NOW," Taylor said jokingly.

"We?"

"You were nominated too. See?"

Gabriella had no interest in the list, but nevertheless peered over. "Great."

"I think it's a bit of an honour to be nominated," Martha said.

"I find it degrading to be quite frank. The whole process is ridiculous. Queen of what exactly?" Taylor asked.

"Julia will win anyway. She won Junior Prom Queen last year," Gabriella said.

"Yeah. I know," Gabriella said darkly. She had perfect memory of Troy winning Junior Prom King and Julia trying to kiss him in front of everyone - claiming that the Queen had the right to kiss the King.

"Please. It was rigged last year," Troy said. "She bribed people to vote for her - literally. The whole thing is stupid."

Gabriella cleared her throat. "You think it's stupid? Would you be offended if you didn't win Homecoming King?"

"Absolutely not!" Troy exclaimed. "I don't care about that shit."

Gabriella's mouth twitched, indicating she didn't entirely believe him. "Right."

"Like Troy has anything to worry about anyway," Chad snorted.

"I dunno. You could win," Gabriella mused.

"So you guys saw the list huh?" Paula asked, approaching them from behind.

"Just then. Congratulations on the nomination, Paula," Troy said with a smile.

"Oh yes. My life is now complete," she scoffed.

Taylor stood to leave the table.

"Where you going?" Chad asked, looking disappointed.

"Ladies room... would you like to come?" Taylor asked, a smirk on her face.

* * *

Sharpay had been sitting up in her balcony area, watching down at where her brother and his so called friends were mingling. The buzz in the room was all about Homecoming. Sharpay had not even been NOMINATED for Homecoming Queen - not that she cared about such titles. But to not even be nominated, had been somewhat offensive. All around her she was listening to boys shyly approach girls and ask them tentatively, hopefully, if they would consider coming with them.

Not one invitation had fallen into Sharpay's lap.

As she was watching down at the Wildcats, her eyes fell onto the outer edge of the Wildcat area where Zeke was talking with Jason and Kelsi. And on a sudden whim, she found herself picking up her new pink tote bag, throwing it over her shoulder, and strutting confidently down the stairs and approaching the group. She tapped Zeke on the shoulder.

"Zeke? Can I uh.. could I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, trying to make herself sound as alluring as possible.

Zeke nodded, allowing her to lead him slightly away from the direct earshot of anyone around.

"Uh... so were you going to Homecoming?" Sharpay asked.

"Yeah. Of course," Zeke answered automatically.

"Umm... are you... are you going with anyone? Coz... umm... if you weren't... I was thinking maybe you and I could go together?" she said hopefully.

Zeke was flabbergasted, staring at Sharpay in disbelief, as though she'd told him that Bush had decided to withdraw all troops from Iraq.

"Two months ago, even when you were chasing after one of my best buddies, I was longing to hear you say that. If I thought that maybe you were being genuine then maybe I would think about it. But you and I both know that you're not asking me because you want to go with me. You're asking me because your brother has made friends and you don't like being left out. News flash Sharpay - maybe if you didn't treat everyone like complete and utter garbage, then you might be more accepted."

And he walked away from the stony faced girl, and didn't look back.

* * *

Taylor quickly headed to the bathroom, not wanting to miss out on a single moment of her lunch break. Another change. In her freshman year, she remembered more than once heading into the bathroom and taking her time, just to avoid having to sit in the cafeteria and pretend to feel as though she belonged. She was in her stall when she heard a couple of girls enter the room.

"Can you BELIEVE the nominations for Homecoming Queen? Since when do a bunch of geeks wind up on the list?"

"Well duh, since the jocks lost their minds and started dating them. I bet you five dollars that Troy nailed Gabriella over summer," the first voice said smugly.

"Like they'd tell anyone anyway. Troy's too noble to gossip. I mean, to this day, no one REALLY knows what went down with Anita at the after party for the Christmas ball last year."

"He'd tell Chad though. And I could find out from Chad. We're tight."

The other girl snorted. "You WISH you were tight. You WERE tight. Past tense. You gave up that fine piece of ass long ago."

By now, Taylor had worked out it was Kayla, Chad's ex girlfriend; and Liana.

"I could get him back if I wanted."

"You do know he's going out with Taylor McKessie?"

"Uh, yeah, and like I said - I could get him back if I wanted."

"You really think? They are TIGHT. And... she was nominated also."

"All it takes is one person to get you nominated, Li. Besides, it won't last. You know Chad, copying Troy like a lost puppy. But he'll get bored."

The voices faded - undoubtedly having finished reapplying their make up. Taylor was frozen. She couldn't move. Her eyes were welled with tears. She'd never been a crying in the bathroom sort, especially not over a boy. But then again, she'd never been a dating basketball players type either, and yet she had taken that route with her life. Finally she emerged from the bathroom stall. She needed a plan of attack. Go out, get her bag, and make an excuse to leave the lunch room. Yes. That was a plan.

Except that the moment she was approaching the table with her head hanging low, Chad asked immediately, "What's wrong, babe?"

Damn Danforth, reading her look a book.

"Nothing," she said quietly.

"Bull shit. You've been crying," Chad said bluntly.

"I don't want to talk about it with you," Taylor said, picking up her bag and turning to leave. She was about five paces away when she realised the person she needed to talk to hadn't followed. She turned around, grabbing Gabriella. "Come on."

"Oh? Was I meant to follow?" Gabriella said meekly, grabbing her own bag and her apple which was on her lunch tray.

"Do you not know how these things work?" Taylor hissed.

"Obviously not."

* * *

Ten minutes later, the girls were seated in the chemistry lab. Taylor had relayed the whole conversation - breaking down into tears in the midst of the tale.

"I have this really clear memory from last year, before you were here. I was sitting with the chemistry club at lunch. Chad and Kayla walked into the cafeteria, arm in arm. Apparently this was new. All the jocks were teasing Chad but it was in that way where they were actually saying 'well done' 'congratulations' 'nice catch' kind of thing. This chant rang out in the cafeteria of 'make out make out make out'. And Chad being Chad wasn't shy to oblige, and Kayla being Kayla wasn't shy to reciprocate and prolong the kiss. Normally I would watch these kinds of displays and roll my eyes, thinking how immature it was. But after they finished kissing, I remember looking over and seeing him turn back to her and cup her face. He then kissed her again, softly, romantically. And I felt this... this pang of jealousy. Not because I had a thing for Chad because back then, I really didn't. But... because I'm not a cold hearted bitch. And... all that time, I really just wanted someone to look at me that way."

"Which is natural."

"When I first started liking Chad, I kept questioning it. Asking how **I **could really have allowed myself to fall for **him**. And finally I just accepted that he makes me happy and that's all that matters. And gave in to it."

"A wise decision."

"I'm so happy with him now Gabriella... and I'm so scared of losing that. Chad says that he and Kayla were kind of serious - and I remember seeing that look he gave her, and it was one of the first times when I contemplated the notion that perhaps there was more to these revolting basketballer cheerleader relationships than just keeping up appearances. And... and... relationships are just so fickle and if he could like her that much before, who is to say that he wouldn't get sick of me and like her again? Because, let's face it... it's like comparing Beyonce with Jennifer Hudson... well Jennifer Hudson before she lost all the weight and started looking even more fabulous."

"Okay firstly... stop putting yourself down. But... secondly... I know how you feel. I really do," Gabriella said. "I went through this when Troy and I were first dating. It's not easy, coming from semi obscurity and dating someone with this elevated status within the social hierarchy."

"But do you know? Do you REALLY know what it's like? I mean... I don't mean to sound rude but you didn't come from semi obscurity here. You were the mysterious new girl who came in and revolutionised East High. I know that TO YOU you came from being a different person. But... it doesn't surprise me to have to listen to those bitches talking about me like that. I've never pretended to like them, I've never hid from the fact that I thought less of them. And they never hid the fact that they thought there was nothing more to me than being good with chemicals and numbers."

"You can't let them get to you Tay, you just can't. Don't compare yourself to Kayla or to any of them. You are you. If anything, don't you think that the fact that within this ridiculously drawn out flirtation with Chad, he never hooked up with any of them? He didn't go on another date, didn't randomly make out with someone at a party? It was all you. And it's still you."

Taylor sighed. "And so now it's been me for a while and even though we've only just begun dating... maybe he will be sick of me any day now. You know, while we were flirting it was all... exciting. And now... maybe he'll be thinking that there's nothing to keep it interesting."

"McKessie, that's all bullshit and you know it."

Of course the voice wasn't Gabriella's. Chad had quietly opened the door, and was leaning up against the door frame. Taylor didn't even look up.

"Go away," she said softly.

"No," he said insistently. "We have about five minutes until the bell and I am not going to next period unless we have sorted this out. So you will be responsible for me wagging if you don't talk to me."

"You have a free period next," Taylor said softly.

"Dammit. I was hoping you'd forget that."

Gabriella cleared her throat. "I'll be... leaving... now."

She squeezed Chad's arm as she exited the room.

"I don't like Kayla," Taylor said quietly.

"Neither do I. Hence that I broke up with her," Chad pointed out.

"I thought she dumped you?"

"She likes to broadcast that it went that way."

"Oh."

"Tay... I get that insecurities are natural. But you need to find that place where they don't bog you down. Don't you think that I have the same crazy thoughts about you? That one day you'll get over this whole 'jocks are cool' concept and find someone who stimulates you intellectually and mentally?"

"That's ridiculous," Taylor said automatically.

"See how instant that reaction was? How stupid you thought I sounded? Right back at you."

"I... I don't like being talked about. It... it wasn't just today Chad. It was from the very first day back. I had people looking at me, like, why does HE have his arm around HER."

"Why do you give a shit what they think? All that matters is that I dig you and you dig me and we're having fun. Fuck the lot of them, seriously."

"I try so hard to think that way and most of the time I do. But... you know... then all I'm trying to do is use the toilet and I have to listen to those stupid girls being crude and..."

"You just said it Tay. Those stupid girls. That's all they are."

Taylor stared at Chad thoughtfully, smiling through her teary eyes. "Thanks."

The bell sounded. "Now is this sorted? Because I have my spare to get to and everything," Chad teased.

Taylor giggled, picking up her bag. "Kiss me and then it'll be sorted."

Lips met in a soft kiss, sealing the deal.

"You should wag global studies then we can keep kissing for a whole lot longer," Chad suggested.

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "You have met me right? Wag? Me?"

"Come on. I'll walk you to class."

Taylor's fingers laced through Chad's, walking hand in hand through the corridors. They passed Kayla at her locker.

"Hi Kayla," she said sweetly, holding her head high.

Kayla smiled a sugary sweet smile and responded in an equally fake tone. "Hi Taylor."

Stupid girls. That's all they are.

* * *

On Tuesday morning, Troy arrived at Gabriella's house ten minutes earlier than the designated pick up time. To his delight she was ready, and to his greater delight Elena Montez had already left the house.

"I hoped you would come early," she said softly, pulling him inside the house.

Ten minutes of desperate kissing later, Troy pulled himself free of her grasp. "We should get going," he murmured.

"One more minute," she replied, pulling him back down.

"Okay," Troy agreed just a moment before their lips crashed together.

Five minutes later, Troy pulled away once again. "Gabi..."

She sighed. "You're right."

When Gabriella Montez was seriously contemplating skipping homeroom to continue kissing her boyfriend - it was a sign. A definite sign.

"Umm... my mom has a meeting this afternoon. So... there will be peace and quiet. Do you want to come over after school? We can... umm... study?" Gabriella suggested.

_'My mom isn't here so we will have privacy to make out, oh God please come'_

"Sure, sounds good. I'm sure I'll get given a bunch of trig questions today that will baffle me."

_'I couldn't care less about homework, as long as I'm making out with you'_

Gabriella smiled, blushing. "Okay. It's a... a date."

Taylor was right.

It was time.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE - **So my big thing here to add commentary to is the Zeke/Sharpay scene - and I guess also on the whole Zeke/Monica development that came about last chapter. Here's the thing. I LOVE Sharpay, I love exploring Sharpay building friendships with people and I love exploring her relationship with Ryan. BUT - I HATE Zeke/Sharpay in a canon story with a fiery passion. It does not work for me. No offense to anyone who writes it. The only way it works is with some massive character development on Sharpay's part. Which... obviously I want to achieve but I just don't want to take this in that direction. And... in general... I'm over stories where you get to the final chapter and there's a happy scene with our main characters all paired off perfectly. That's not the real world. It is important for me that Zeke moves on. I'm sorry if this bursts any bubbles. I'm sure the majority of my readers care most prominently about Troy/Gabriella so you won't be too upset. But for the Sharpay fans out there - and I know there are a lot - don't take this as me writing Sharpay off or not wanting to include her. I just don't want to include her in THAT way and I want to get people out of any mindframe where you are waiting for the perfect couples land to emerge because it won't.

Rant over. What did you think? Comments? Thoughts? Suggestions? Hate mail? (Can be directed to the review button below) On a serious note, if you actually have severe objections to my authors process I would love to hear from you, if you don't want to review feel free to PM or e-mail. I can't change my direction in this story but believe me, my brain wants to start writing about eighty five new stories and who knows, you could be the person to make me have a whole new opinion on Zeke/Sharpay and wind up as an avid shipper.

Highly excited about the next chapter? You should be. Even **I **can't drag things out for dramatic purposes any longer. _Hint hint wink wink_.

-Dani xo


	13. Chapter 13

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I would like to highlight the **M rating** of this story for purposes of **sexual references/depictions**. Which kicks up a notch from this chapter onwards. **You have been warned**.

**If you don't want to be reading fiction of this nature, might I suggest you navigate away from this page and search for a T rated fic?**

Also, a huge giant massive thank you to Ayen for her preview and subsequent feedback with this one... in its original form it was... well rather dreadful. Her tactful nudge in the 'no really, it's FINE to be descriptive' direction was exactly what I needed.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Gabriella, for the first time ever, could appreciate the perks of her mom working a lot. In the past, it had been a burden, an annoying burden. She knew that her mom had made sacrifices so that they could stay in Albuquerque, so that they wouldn't have to move again. And one of those was that she had regular business trips, flying around the country to facilitate training seminars. Her days would start earlier than the typical businesswoman, the days would run later. This was often a source of loneliness. Now, it was a perk. A definite perk.

On Tuesday, Troy came over after school. They spent maybe five minutes studying, however there was no point in even trying to maintain the guise. She had stood from the desk, sitting next to him to glance down at his math textbook which was lying on the bed. One graze of the hand, one look into his eyes which were boring into hers - and that was all it took.

Soft kisses became hard kisses, hard kisses became lustful kisses. And sooner rather than later - and probably fuelled by the sexual tension Troy had experienced the whole day as a result of the early morning make out session - the affect that she had upon him was evident to them both.

It was time.

It was now or never, Gabriella knew she had to do something to take things to a new level. Once upon a time, she would have been petrified about this. A part of her was petrified and terrified and scared and frightened and nervous. But Taylor had been correct, like she so often was.

You just know that it's right.

Gabriella knew that it was right. Despite her fear - it was right, and she was ready. She had been given the advice to just follow her natural instincts. That afternoon, lying with her absolutely sublime boyfriend and feeling just how much he wanted her; her instinct told her to explore, to act upon the curiosity that was raging within.

Her hands had been roaming over his upper body, at first through his polo shirt and then prying beneath; clutching at the warmth of his skin beneath his shirt. She gradually dropped one of her hands, her index fingertip drawing a light line down his pecs, to his stomach, circling his belly button and then dropping a little lower, until it grazed over the front of his jeans. She only ever so slightly allowed her finger tip to run over the evident bulge. Troy froze a little, pulling away from her kisses.

"Does that hurt?" Gabriella asked softly, referring to his erection.

She allowed her whole hand to graze along his length. Even in his bewildered state of complete shock, Troy knew that his response was going to be absolutely instrumental in defining what happened next. The taboo nature of sex made open discussion about it an uncomfortable notion. A lot of what Troy needed to know could only be learnt without the utilisation of the spoken word. He looked at her carefully, into her eyes that were gazing at him so intently. Her hand was trembling a little as it continued to ever so slightly massage him. He needed to know that she was okay, he had to remain calm and in control of his hormones.

Troy tried to speak, but his voice was a little hoarse. He cleared his throat, and responded, trying to remain casual.

"Not really. It becomes uncomfortable if it sticks around for a while with… with nothing being done about it."

Gabriella smiled shyly. "And… is that why you often make excuses to go to the bathroom, or jump in the pool, or take a shower?"

"You got me," Troy admitted, leaning forward to kiss her softly.

They continued to kiss, as she continued to softly play with him. The tremble in her hand gradually dissipated as she became more comfortable within the movement. Her hand left his crotch for long enough to tug his polo shirt off and throw it aside. He kissed her softly, playfully, tongues darting out and teasing. Now both of her hands were roaming; one hand over his warm, hard abs, and the other feeling his growing bulge. It was a natural response for Troy to begin to roam in return. Instinctively - and yet attempting to be as gentlemanly as possible - he allowed his hand to run up her side and just barely graze the side of her breasts. A motion he had been so desperate to initiate since... well, almost since the day they'd kissed, REALLY kissed, for the first time. Gabriella didn't flinch, she just kissed him more fervently indicating to him that she was fine with it. And she was. It felt perfectly natural. And so he continued, caressing and squeezing the perfect handfuls; the result being the rise in his bulge. Gabriella broke their kiss for a moment, and looked straight into his eyes.

"I want to… um… can I see it?" she asked.

Troy swallowed hard. _Of course you can fucking well see it. _"Um… yeah… sure. If you want to."

Gabriella kissed him as she undid the button and pulled down the fly. He helped her to tug down his jeans. She took a breath and Troy lifted himself from the bed long enough for her to pull down his black boxer briefs. Her heart was beating at what felt like a million beats a minute as his length was put on display for her. Troy was propped up on the pillows of Gabriella's bed. He was feeling rather vulnerable in that moment. He'd never thought he would feel vulnerable in this situation, that he would feel even the slightest bit of self consciousness. But that was exactly how he felt. Here he was, Troy Bolton, naked in the bedroom of Gabriella Montez. On display; awaiting her judgment.

Gabriella's eyes were fixated, unable to tear them away. Troy couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath, seeing the look of lustful intent in her eyes. Her hand tentatively reached out to touch him, and then quickly pulled back. She looked away for a moment, trying to compose herself.

"Gabriella, you don't have to if you don't want to," Troy said gently.

He mistook her hesitation as being a lack of willingness; and didn't want her to feel pressured in the slightest. It took every inch of his gentlemanly respect to say it because all he desperately wanted was for her to touch him and more than touch him.

"I instigated this whole turn of events. I want to," she assured him, and reached out her hand again.

This time she barely grazed along before pulling away, almost as though petting a reptile or something icky. Troy couldn't help but grin, but once again, he was concerned by her reaction.

"Stop looking at me like I'm fragile or something," she murmured, reading his mind. She had expected this wariness from him; it was the exact reason why she knew that it had to be her to instigate things. She could be waiting forever for him to make the move. Damn boys with their sensitive new age guy respect for women. "I just don't want to hurt you. I'm not exactly accustomed to how to go about doing this."

She tentatively reached out her hand again, this time her fingertips grazed all the way from the base to the tip, and then cupped his balls.

Troy had closed his eyes. "No danger of hurting me right now," he managed to say.

Part of him wanted to watch as she explored, but the other part knew that watching her was going to make the experience come to an end sooner than he desired.

"Do you want me to… to…"

Gabriella wasn't good with the descriptive terms, but Troy was able to decipher her meaning and teasingly supply the end of the sentence.

"Gabriella, if you don't actively make me cum soon, then I think it may happen just with you being here with me like this," Troy informed her.

She blushed, feeling both proud and embarrassed that she was having such an affect upon him.

"You're going to have to tell me if I'm doing it right," she requested, feeling slightly embarrassed; but more embarrassed by the notion of not doing it right.

"Whatever you do, I'm not going to last long," Troy warned her.

Gabriella's hand grasped around his shaft.

"Is this... is this right?" she asked, as she tentatively stroked.

"You can hold a little tighter... but not too tight."

"Like this?" she murmured, changing her grasp and continuing the motion.

Troy gasped. "Uh huh... that's... fuck... really good."

"And should I be going faster?"

He took a deep breath, trying to find the will to instruct. "That's fine for a while. Then... towards the end I would pick up the pace."

His brain was a mish mash of a billion thoughts, most of which were entirely incomprehensible. It was surreal, almost as though it were a dream. He had been anticipating another afternoon of a bit of study, a lot of making out, and then home to relieve the tension like he had been doing every other time they'd been together of late. And now here he was, naked in her bedroom, her eyes feasting upon him as her hand did its magical job.

Somehow Gabriella found that watching what she was doing was unnerving. So instead, as she stroked slowly but consistently from base to tip, she was distracting herself. She was interchanging between kissing him lazily, sucking and nipping at his neck, and gazing at him. It wasn't his body that she was gazing at - although it provided gaze worthy material. It was his face. It was the closed eyes and contorted expressions and little pants and grunts and groans which escaped his mouth. It was all of this which brought Gabriella the slight confidence that maybe what she was doing was indeed right, that she was performing adequately. Every so often he would flutter his eyes open and their gazes would meet. The look he gave her was an astonishing mix of pure lust and love all rolled into one.

His penis was still growing within her grasp. Each time she thought to herself, so this is a completely hard penis - it would become even harder. Troy couldn't help but marvel how different it felt. Different in a good way. How her delicate, inexperienced hand felt better than his own experienced hands. How it was that the few cheerleader girlfriends who had performed this same action whilst in the haze of alcoholic influence couldn't bring him to this point, the climax always being nice but not where he could feel it heading now.

Gabriella's hand suddenly felt somewhat sticky, and she allowed her eyes to drop down. No, it was still hard. And there hadn't been any escalated noises from his mouth, just the same consistent level of gasping and ragged breathing.

"It's... it's precum," he managed to tell her, somehow within his haze of rising ecstasy reading her questioning thoughts. "You can... use it like... lubricant."

"Should I go faster now?" she asked.

He nodded slightly, the pace of her strokes increasing and subsequently the volume and intensity of his vocal response also heightened.

"Shit Gabi... it's so good... so good..."

His words of encouragement spurred her on, pulling at him even faster. He clung to the bedspread, feeling the climax rising. In a spluttering of expletives and moans and cries of her name, it hit him.

"Holy... fuck... ohh... fuck... Gabi..." he moaned.

Gabriella couldn't help but watch in fascination as Troy grunted whilst he came, mostly in her hands but also a little on her top. He was struggling to breathe, lying back with closed eyes. It was that moment watching him when Gabriella felt most attracted to Troy, and to the whole concept of taking their relationship to this new level. The look on his face of utter bliss and content – and most importantly, knowing that she was able to make him feel that way. That it was she who had that power.

He opened his eyes to see her staring at him, licking her bottom lip slightly. He quickly grabbed the tissue box from the bedside table and handed some to her to help clean up. She jumped up to go into her bathroom and wash her hands quickly.

"You um… there's a little on your top," he said upon her return, feeling slightly embarrassed. "How that got there I've not a clue. Although be grateful that not a drop fell onto your bedspread."

Gabriella paused for a moment and her response was to quickly pull off her shirt, toss it aside, and then jump back onto the bed. Troy drew in a sharp breath.

"Problem solved," she said shyly.

His eyes were fixated on her breasts. Sure, they'd spent hours upon hours together over summer with Gabriella wearing her one piece swimsuit; and even a few times where she would wear a bikini. But there was something different about a woman in a lacy white bra. Something more private, more intimate. She leaned into him and initiated a long, deep, lingering kiss.

They became engaged in what was undoubtedly their hottest make out session to date. She could feel him beginning to get hard again, and would occasionally run her hands along his length. He was becoming more liberal with his hands and the places they were roaming as they kissed. Troy was gently running his hands over Gabriella's breasts, softly squeezing and caressing with little abandon. Gabriella suddenly pulled away.

"Too fast?" he asked gently.

"No…no it's not that, it's just that my mom could be home any time from now. Maybe… maybe you should get dressed. And we should talk."

Troy nodded. "Okay."

It was strange how self conscious he now felt as he searched for his clothes that had been haphazardly thrown about in Gabriella's room. He located his pants and shirt but the location of his underwear was a mystery. He heard Gabriella giggling behind him.

"Looking for these?" she asked teasingly, pulling them out from behind her, dangling them in the air between her index finger and thumb.

"You were just enjoying watching me naked looking for them, weren't you?" Troy teased.

"Yup."

Gabriella retrieved a clean shirt from her wardrobe as Troy dressed. They returned to the bed, this time sitting cross legged across from one another.

At first there was silence. Troy decided that since it had been Gabriella to make the massive move and initiate the activity, he should at least have the balls to start the conversation.

"Umm okay I'll start."

Gabriella inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, because she was presently in a state where she was unable to stream her thoughts into coherent sentences. Despite Troy's intention to start - he found himself somewhat speechless. He wasn't sure exactly what to say, where to begin. The first thing that blurted out of his mouth wasn't exactly the poignant speech he perhaps should have delivered.

"I can't believe you did that."

She couldn't help but giggle at the awe in his voice. "I can't believe I did it either."

"I mean... you just did it. Without... without conversation or..."

"Somehow I found it easier to do than to talk about. How do you begin that conversation? 'Troy, next time we're making out, would you like it if I... you know.' It just doesn't work that well," Gabriella responded, blushing a little.

Troy's face broke into a grin. "You are so, so amazing," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her softly. Somehow, the words were now forming themselves with a lot more coherence than they were at first. "But... as glad as I am that we've taken this step, you need to know that I in no way expect anything from you. You know that, right? I hope you haven't taken anything that I've said as being pushing you because… I have very actively been trying to make sure that you didn't think I was pushing you or…"

"Troy," Gabriella said, interrupting him. "You haven't pushed. Not at all. Not in the slightest. You're like... the opposite of a pusher."

He nodded. "Good."

Gabriella picked up his hand, lacing her fingers with his.

"I've been thinking a lot lately about… about us. Specifically, about the physical side of our relationship. It seemed to take a big step over summer, and just over the last few weeks. I mean, we've been kissing more than talking, but I like it. I like… how it makes me feel. And… how it makes you feel becomes a little obvious."

"Damn male biology, it gives us away every time," Troy joked.

"I want to start taking steps in… in that direction. In the direction of… of…"

"Sex?" Troy supplied questioningly.

"Yes. I don't feel ready yet. I mean, today was the first time that anyone has ever even felt my… my…"

"Breasts," Troy again supplied, this time with a slight smile on his face.

She giggled. "I have to learn to say these words, don't I?"

"Are you sure about all this? You don't... there hasn't been any pressure at all?"

"Yes I'm sure. I instigated it. You know it's been different with us lately, implicitly. It's natural for things to move in this direction, isn't it?"

He nodded. "I do think it's natural and definitely I'd been feeling that it was different. I guess I just thought that maybe it would take you a little longer to feel that it was natural."

"Well I'm here and... I want this."

Eyes met in a long gaze. A gaze of desire. A gaze of longing. But most importantly, a gaze of love.

"I want you more and more Gabriella, whenever we're together. So when you're ready – and **only **when you're ready – then… well… I would be honoured."

* * *

The doorbell rang right on time the following morning. There was a part of Gabriella that was freaking out. The morning after. What was she supposed to say? _'Did you sleep well?'_ somehow seemed to now have all sorts of interesting connotations.

Gabriella flew open the door, yelling back into the dining room where her mom was just finishing up her morning coffee, "Bye mom, see you tonight."

"Morning you," Gabriella said softly.

Troy looked different to Gabriella. She'd always looked at him and felt amazing depths of emotion. But there was this additional layer. She could mentally feel his hands running over her body. It was going to be a long day. She wanted to tell him just how much she wanted him, how much she looked forward to when they could get some privacy again.

"Good morning," Troy responded.

Gabriella looked different to Troy. Just 24 hours earlier, he had picked her up at this exact same place. He'd always thought she was beautiful inside and out, and felt such attraction to her. Now, she was sexy. Now he could replace fantasies with actual imagery. There was so much he wanted to say. He needed to make sure that she was okay with the sudden development in their relationship. He wanted her to know just how amazing she was, and how incredible she had made him feel.

In many ways, the gaze that followed went back to the gazes that would occur during the very first stages of their relationship. The moments where they could look each other in the eyes and say all the things that were too hard to say aloud.

"I love you," Troy murmured, bringing his lips down to meet hers softly.

"Love you too," she replied breathily.

And with those simple words and one look - it was all said.

The whole world felt different, and yet life had to continue as per normal. Now when Gabriella glanced over at Troy in homeroom, there was a whole different connotation to her stare. A mental undressing which he could just see within her eyes. And just as Taylor had predicted - the development brought them closer together.

* * *

During free period, the group were hanging out in the courtyard. Gabriella was sitting in the V of Troy's legs, his arms are wrapped around her. Every so often, he would press a gentle kiss against her neck. Her fingers were tracing up and down his arms. A week ago, Gabriella would have been hesitant to be found sitting in such a position on school property, in fear of being reprimanded by a teacher for PDA. But now, she didn't care in the slightest. Because sitting across from him without feeling his arms around her was a painful notion. And so within his arms she would sit.

Finally, Ryan appeared to be more willing to reveal his secret in relation to the musical.

"Troy, let me put this bluntly. You keep talking about being too busy. Forget being too busy. If there was no scheduling conflict, if there was suddenly an extra few hours available each day - would you want to audition?"

Troy paused. "I read the script like you told me to. It is really awesome. And... I do like this Mike character you all keep talking about when you think I'm not listening. The rock number is awesome - you know, the one where is is serenading Nina."

"Gabriella's character?" Ryan said with a smile.

"I haven't even auditioned yet you," Gabriella said, prying herself from Troy's arms so she could learn over to hit Ryan on the arm softly.

"I heard from Paula that the art department have already been working on a heap of the scenery for it," Troy remarked, as Gabriella nestled back into his arms. "Seems like the whole school is getting involved, pitching their talents in, instead of the drama club doing everything in a half assed manner."

"So. Like I said. If you had no scheduling conflict?"

Troy sighed. "I would be more inclined to agree to auditioning. But..."

"That's all I needed."

"Ryan, I know that you're now class president and everything, but you don't have the ability to manipulate space and time," Troy remarked.

"Oh don't I?" Ryan said smugly. "I'm working on Darbus. Let's just say that things might be scheduled differently to facilitate more people being interested. Every year I talk to random people who say that they are interested in the musical but they just don't have time. Even being in the chorus, Darbus normally wants you there every day after school which is ridiculous. People have lives to deal with. It's about time this was taken into account."

If Ryan had delivered this speech the day before, Gabriella might have been hooked onto every word; contemplating the ramifications of rehearsal schedules being designed around the performers and that this would in fact allow Troy to audition if he so desired. But it didn't matter any more, it was the last thing on her mind.

* * *

On Wednesday afternoon, Troy and Gabriella parted ways just outside the gymnasium. She had walked him to basketball practice after their economics class together; and then she was heading to meet Ryan and the rest of the newly selected student council.

"I don't wanna go to this meeting," Gabriella said softly, kissing him gently.

"I don't wanna go to basketball practice," Troy replied, kissing her back.

"Yeah you do."

"Okay I do. But can you come with me?"

Gabriella giggled. "What, a kiss for every basket you make?"

Troy perked up. "That could be a plan. I like that. It improves my game AND I get to kiss you."

"You don't need to make baskets for me to wanna kiss you."

"True that."

A long winded and passionate kiss ensued.

"You coming over tomorrow afternoon?" Gabriella asked.

"Are you going to maintain your rule about studying during 'free periods'?" Troy asked, a sly smile on his face.

"Maybe for a little while. Then I might get over it if persuaded otherwise," she responded with a blush.

"Then I will most definitely be there and I will practice my skills of persuasion tonight."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Bites fingernails._ Err... yes... first time posting this sort of stuff (I've been WRITING it for a while, from an age where writing it is almost inappropriate. But... first time actually allowing the world to read it.) So... uh... my nerves are at the point where hitting the ADD button is somewhat... okay... I'm not AFRAID. I'm just... scared (get it?) and more than scared really, perhaps terrified... and petrified even. I want to add a giant paragraph of my justifications as to why I did particular things the way I did them (i.e. activity THEN talk) but I think I might just leave it be and see what your response is like. If there's a time for the lurkers to come out of the shadows now would be it. Review? Pretty please? And don't coddle me because of my nerves. Diplomacy is appreciated though.

-Danielle xo


	14. Chapter 14

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Umm... I'm so incredibly overwhelmed with the response to last chapter. I put soooo much last minute work in - and my nerves were very genuine. So now I'm like as giddy as a school girl and so grateful to everyone who reviewed, I had intention of responding to everyone but to be honest I just don't have time at the moment (see note at the end of this chapter). An especially huge thank you to the lurkers who came out like I asked! Never feel like you have nothing constructive to say because even taking a minute of your time to say "I really enjoyed this, looking forward to the next update" means a lot to an author! So yes... thanks to everyone for all the lovely comments... so incredibly humbled and grateful that there are no words to express it!

Random note to other authors - have you checked out the new Reader Traffic function? I find it rather fascinating. Props to the tech team of ff . net! :-)

* * *

**Chapter 14**

"Hey Taylor?" Gabriella said, rather suddenly. "What can you tell me about Troy and... his ex girlfriends?"

The girls were standing at Taylor's locker just before homeroom on Thursday morning. Taylor reached up, grabbing a thick textbook and slid it into her bag on the opposite side of the divider from her laptop.

"I knew something happened!" Taylor said knowingly, a small smile on her face.

Both Gabriella and Troy had not spread a word about the development of their relationship. However, for those with keen observational skills like Taylor McKessie, being specifically updated wasn't a requirement.

"I never said anything happened," Gabriella said defensively, although she already knew that Taylor suspected.

"I really don't know a lot. From what I gather, he's always been private about his little school crush girlfriends. So the last person who would know would be me."

"Hmm," Gabriella mused.

"Something happened and now you need the details, huh?" Taylor said. "You have to talk to him about it. Surely that would be easier to do now."

Why was Taylor right about almost everything?

* * *

The bell signalling lunch period rang - signalling that the majority of seniors were free to leave. There was a part of Troy and Gabriella which wanted to go to her house and proceed with making out and whatever else might follow. The part of them that had been longingly staring at the other one for the last two days. The part which was mentally undressing and picturing. The part which could FEEL the other one's hands upon their body. Although nothing specific had been said that they were going to resume Tuesday afternoon's 'activities', the implication was there. And they were both internally hoping that it would happen.

However there had been a scary amount of homework allocated for physics, which Troy very specifically wanted Gabriella's assistance with. And they had been allocated a partner project for economics, which Gabriella in her Gabriella fashion wanted to get stuck into. Along with a series of other piling obligations. And so, for an hour, Gabriella remained true to her principle of using spares for school work.

For an hour.

But once they had their plan of attack for economics, and had gone over the physics homework - things were fair game. Troy was sneaking looks at Gabriella; and Gabriella was sneaking looks at Troy. Yet again, it was she who initiated a break in the monotony of the study rhythm. However it wasn't straight from the study to the fingers clawing at his neck, because Gabriella was itching for information before she could proceed with anything like that.

"Troy?" Gabriella ventured.

She was sitting cross legged on her bed, where she had been pretending to read a textbook as she gathered her thoughts - and her courage.

"Hmm?" Troy responded.

He was at her desk using her laptop - he had tried to be diligent, he really had, but in the last fifteen minutes he'd written one sentence of his English report. His mind was experiencing flashbacks to the last time he'd been in her bedroom.

"Umm… you know how you've had other girlfriends? And yes, you don't need to remind me that girlfriend is the 'loose' term," she quickly added, anticipating his protests that he had never had a REAL girlfriend until her.

"Yeah?"

"Um… what um… what stuff have you done with them?"

Troy looked over at her sharply. He stood from the desk, and went over to sit next to her on the bed.

"Stuff?"

She rolled her eyes. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, no need to play dumb."

He bit his lip. There was the manly part of him who wanted to appear as though he was oozing with confidence when it came to this side of their relationship. And then, there was the truth.

"Not a lot," he admitted. "Why?"

"Just coz well… I mean… Chad and Taylor had done more than we had done before they even went on a date. And… Zeke and Monica had sex twice before they were even seriously contemplating going out. And…"

"You wonder if I ever just randomly did anything like that?"

"Well... People seem to keep talking about your Christmas dance last year and the... and the pink jelly... and..."

"I'm a virgin, Gabriella," Troy said softly, but directly.

"I thought that you might have mentioned it if you weren't, but I had to ask because you hadn't SPECIFICALLY ever said it," she said softly.

"Well I've never specifically told you a lot of things that I haven't done. Like… like that it was in fact me who invented microwave popcorn," he said teasingly.

Gabriella blushed. "But uh… what about… other stuff?"

Troy paused. "Umm... a couple of times a girl had... well... pulled me off. And I felt up a few of them, as in breasts not… not…"

"Now it's you who suddenly doesn't want to use the words," Gabriella teased.

"Trying to be a gentleman is all. And umm... okay you brought up the Christmas party so... yeah. That was kinda... fucked."

"Who did you go with?"

"I went to the dance at school with Angela Crawford. She's the stereotypical ditzy blonde on the cheer squad. Follows Julia around like a lost puppy."

"Right..."

"And we drank a lot and groped around in the fricking freezing cold outside. But uh... we had a fight and then somehow I wound up groping around with Anita - who was a senior, she graduated last year... at the after party."

Gabriella didn't bat an eyelid, which Troy was grateful for.

"That went a bit further than... than feeling up her breasts. But to be honest the whole thing is a complete haze thanks to the pink jelly vodka shots which of course then made a reappearance at our back to school party after New Years which is actually the event you keep hearing about... and I realise that saying I was drunk and she was drunk doesn't make it any better in fact it probably makes it worse." Troy was staring at the ground, suddenly feeling slightly dirty. "I'm like some man slut, aren't I?"

"No you're not. Thank you for being honest," Gabriella said softly. "And... sorry for asking… I know… I know that I shouldn't care."

"It's okay. It's fair enough for you to ask."

"Can I ask you something else?"

"Okay."

"Why didn't you ever do anything else? I mean… surely… surely you had offers? Like, I heard Jacqui hit on you at Jason's party last semester. You know, before we were going out, but after we were…"

"Flirting?" Troy supplied with a smile. "Umm… where did you hear that?"

"Paula," Gabriella said frankly.

"Oh. Umm… yeah. I had offers. Including Jacqui, but she was soooo smashed that night, and depressed because she and Scott were in an 'off again' phase. I guess… as Chad would explain it, I'm a girl when it comes to this stuff," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "I guess… I guess I don't believe in just randomly doing this kind of stuff with anyone. Just like I didn't see the point of being in a relationship with someone just for the sake of it. If I'd have had someone who I cared about then I would have pursued a relationship, and then maybe the stuff would have happened. But… I didn't… not… not til you."

"And now the stuff is starting to happen," Gabriella remarked.

"Only if you want it to," Troy said hastily.

"I do," Gabriella said with a blush, looking straight into his eyes.

"I umm... I think I understand this physics stuff now," Troy said very suddenly, moving a little closer to her, and leaning over to kiss her softly. "And... and this report isn't due for a while... and..."

"Are you sure?" Gabriella asked between kisses. "Because... because school is..." Kiss. "Important." Kiss. "And it should be prioritised."

"Uh huh," Troy said, before kissing her again deeper.

Her response was to kiss him back with an equal fervour and it didn't take her long to remove his t-shirt, feeling a desperate need to feel his warm skin. By the time Troy's hands were lightly running over Gabriella's breasts, she was already fumbling with his belt and fly. Her shirt began to ride up as Troy tentatively brought his hand up her side, underneath her tank top. He cupped her lace covered breast, bringing his lips down from hers to instead lick and suckle on her neck. He then began to tug her top down slightly, allowing him to softly suckle on the swell of her breast which was free of the lace from her bra. She gasped slightly, and grasped onto his penis, initiating a consistent stroking motion. One of Troy's hands was firmly caressing her breast under her top; and the other was groping around her ass, dipping down just inches from her centre.

She wanted more. There was an ache in her abdomen telling her, screaming at her, that she _needed_ more.

If only life were that simple.

The sound of the garage door going up came earlier than anticipated. Troy internally groaned. Gabriella outwardly groaned. She reached over to where Troy's boxers and shorts were on the floor on her side of the bed, and tossed them to him.

"I think she's doing it on purpose. She knows you're here on Thursday afternoons," Gabriella commented. "After… after last week. She had a MEETING today for crying out loud."

"Well to her credit, she's right on the money," Troy remarked, as he pulled his plaid cotton boxers back on in a hurry.

Less than two minutes later, there was a knock at Gabriella's bedroom door.

"Come in," Gabriella called.

Elena poked her head in, glancing approvingly at her daughter sitting on her bed reading, and her daughter's boyfriend at the desk typing away on the computer.

"Just saying hello," Elena said.

They both smiled innocently.

* * *

Troy went home for dinner - somehow being around Gabriella with the afternoons activities left incomplete was enhancing the frustration. Being the helpful son he was, he stacked the dishes and took them into the kitchen to load the dishwasher. Jack Bolton was right on his tail.

"Troy, did you remember that your mother and I are away this weekend?" Jack asked his son.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Uh no?"

"You remember Janine and Clark? Their daughter is getting married. Anyway it's up in Santa Fe so we're going to be staying the night up there. I swear we told you about this."

Scenarios were now playing out in Troy's head. Once upon a time, being told that parents are away would lead to thoughts of how they could arrange for the purchase of enough beer for 50 people; and whether it could be kept quiet so that Jack wouldn't find out at school. Now, the scenarios involved a much smaller party. A party for two, perhaps.

"Right. I remember that. Just totally forgot about it is all. That's fine. You know I'm fine on my own."

"Troy? Will you be on your own?"

"Like I would jeopardise your job by having a party here behind your back," Troy said, trying to throw him off track.

It didn't work. Troy knew exactly what his father had been inferring, and Jack knew that Troy knew it.

"Okay. Like I asked, will you be on your own?"

Troy stared at him. "I might have a friend come over at some point. Like I would usually. I don't tend to organise my social life in advance."

"Do I need to ask Chad's mom if you can stay the night there?"

Troy exhaled noisily. "No. No you don't. I'm seventeen years old."

The point was multi sided.

Firstly, _I'm seventeen years old and so I can stay at home on my own. _

Secondly, _I'm seventeen years old and you and I both know that at some point probably sooner rather than later, I'm going to have sex. _

Jack nodded. "Right. That you are."

* * *

Troy was itching to tell Gabriella that his parents were away. He didn't want to sound presumptuous. But at the same time, Gabriella had made it fairly clear that she too had been rather frustrated with her mom coming home preemptively the day before. He decided upon the direct approach, picking her up Friday morning, kissing for a while, and then making the announcement as they drove to school.

"So uh… I just found out last night that my parents are going to this wedding tomorrow night in Santa Fe. They are staying over night up there. They're leaving on Saturday afternoon and then come back later on Sunday. So umm… if you want to come over and hang at any point on the weekend… then uh… we will have some privacy."

Gabriella looked down, feeling a little embarrassed at what she was about to say, and be more or less admitting.

"I think you should text me as soon as they leave the house."

Troy grinned broadly, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at her. He knew that Gabriella had been frustrated after being interrupted the day before. He could only imagine that she had been getting a little worked up and then to be left wanting. Hell, he knew how frustrated he had felt. He felt bad that they hadn't gotten to 'her turn' yet but at the same time, it was a relief that her longing was evident.

* * *

Ryan and Kelsi emerged into the cafeteria half way through lunch time, walking right up to Troy.

"What if I told you that I had organised it, definitely, absolutely, that there will be no scheduling conflict between basketball and the musical?" Ryan asked.

Troy sighed. "Hi Troy, how are you going, I'm good thanks Ryan."

"Answer the question."

"Tell me how you have manipulated this first."

"It's a complicated explanation which can be simplified in saying, trust me. What if that was the case?"

"Then it would still be as it has been. I haven't thought about it a LOT and I haven't made any decisions. Auditions aren't for like two weeks. I don't need to sign up until the day," Troy said bluntly.

Kelsi shrugged. "I heard there's some new kid who is going to audition for Mike, anyway. He's supposed to be some acting pro or something."

"That's good. Your script deserves to have professionals in the roles."

Kelsi sighed exasperatedly. "My script deserves to have YOU."

"Kelsi seriously... I know that this is bothering you a lot but harassing me isn't going to help me decide faster. I really don't know yet. I'm waiting to see how practice goes over the next few sessions, whether the guys are playing well together. And to see how I'm feeling about my school work and stuff. Sure you might be able to work around my crazy basketball schedule, but that doesn't mean that I want every second of every day filled in with extra curricular school shit. Sometimes I like to have time for me and my friends and for this gorgeous specimen sitting beside me," he said, kissing Gabriella softly on the cheek.

She giggled. "Aww."

"Anyway... I actually have to go and talk to Paula for a second."

Gabriella watched as Troy sauntered off, heading over to where Paula was chatting with some of the new guys from the basketball team. Troy greeted his new teammates, shaking their hands.

"Stop staring," Kelsi teased.

"I'm allowed to," Gabriella declared, but blushing. "Anyway. I'm so excited about Homecoming tonight. My dress is so pretty."

"You might get Homecoming Queen, you know," Ryan pointed out.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Julia has been CAMPAIGNING for it. After losing the cheer squad vote and the class president elections, wouldn't you think she'd be sick of campaigning?"

"Yeah but Troy will get Homecoming King. So it would make sense that you would get Queen."

"I think Paula will get it," Gabriella said.

"Paula will get what?" Paula's voice came from behind.

She and Troy had come over to the group.

"Homecoming Queen," Gabriella answered.

"Nuh-uh, that's all yours."

"Don't you find it hilarious that neither of us give a crap about it, and there's all these girls vying for it?"

Paula grinned. "That's why you and I are so much cooler than any of them."

"You guys have a student council meeting this afternoon, don't you?" Troy asked.

"Yup, til about 4."

"Don't suppose the two of you want to come and meet with me and Paula after our practices? Won't take long. We wanna talk about pep rallies and... stuff."

"Actually we have ideas too!" Gabriella said excitedly.

"I can't believe you want to meet before Homecoming. Don't you want to go and frock up?" Ryan asked Paula.

"I'm so not that much of a girly girl. Besides, the dance doesn't start til 8. Our practices end at 4:30 today, so we will be done by like 5. That's heaps of time."

"We'll come meet you at the gym then?" Gabriella asked.

"It's a plan."

* * *

When Ryan and Gabriella slipped into the gym, the boys were still in training. They had taken seats up the back of the bleachers in the corner.

"What about Zeke?" Gabriella whispered.

"Uh…no."

"Is it the interracial thing?"

"No," Ryan said firmly. "He's too tall."

"Hmm… too tall? Maybe basketballers won't be your thing then," Gabriella commented. "Do you think Troy is hot? He's only a little taller than you."

"Gabriella! Do you really want to be having this conversation with me?"

"Yes! I do!"

Ryan didn't say anything, but his cheeks were going red.

"You do! You think Troy is hot!"

"I am pleading the fifth."

"It's okay. I don't mind. He is hot," Gabriella said bluntly.

"If you happen to ever meet any gay Troy look a likes seeing as your man is VERY straight, let me know," Ryan said wryly.

"Yes, Troy is very straight, this I know," she remarked.

"You know?" Ryan asked with a teasing grin.

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Uh… I don't mean it like that… I mean we haven't…"

"It's okay, Gabriella," Ryan assured her.

She was saved by the blow of Coach Bolton's whistle, telling them to jog a few laps around the gym and then hit the showers. Troy stuck out his tongue at Gabriella as he jogged past their corner. She blushed slightly.

"I'll be five minutes," he called out.

True to his word, five minutes Troy emerged from the locker room, with Paula in tow.

"I keep trying to get these girls to try something more athletic but all they want to do is write new cheers," she was complaining.

"You're in charge. Just bully them into it," Troy suggested, as he plonked down on the seat beside Gabriella.

"Okay. Let's make this efficient. I'm suddenly very excited about the dance," Paula said. "Who suggested this meeting?"

"You," three voices said simultaneously.

"Right. Shit. Oh well. So. Ummm yes... last year the class president and the student council were useless and the cheerleaders organised all the pep rallies. When I say organised I mean we picked a day, put some fliers up, and then just did our routines and the jocks stood there and everyone watched. But I don't want it to be that useless this year. But I wasn't sure where the responsibility was actually going to lie. But you guys seem pretty organised and I don't doubt you have some ideas about this sort of stuff."

Gabriella and Ryan glanced at each other. Gabriella pulled out from her bag a giant folder with colour coded dividers and post it notes sticking out.

"Organised is understatement," Ryan smirked. Troy couldn't help but smile adoringly at Gabriella.

"We have this whole new approach to how we want to do... well... pretty much everything. Which will encompass pep rallies," Gabriella said.

"Basically, we have an overall theme for the year - _Wildcat Fever - Celebrating All Species Of Wildcat Life_. We want to start off by getting rid of that giant dorky poster of the basketball team in the corridor," Ryan said.

Troy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank fucking Christ."

"And put up a big group photo of EVERYONE, all dressed in red and white," he finished.

"Normally I think the student council does stuff like bake sales and fundraising events and then oversees committees who run school dances, and oversee the cheersquad who are in charge of pep rallies," Gabriella said. "But.. East High is different, well it is different now. And we should capitalise upon that. Take advantage of the integration, and collaborate. Create a long term school culture which embraces all Wildcats, whether they be basketball players or guitarists or dancers or chess players."

Gabriella's speech was animated and heartfelt, a sparkle in her eye as she spoke with such passion.

"Yes! I love this!" Paula exclaimed. "So pep rallies aren't just for this lot. They are to create school spirit for everything."

Ryan nodded. "Exactly. They provide a platform to promote musical auditions, to let everyone know about the marching band at the town parade, that people can volunteer to be ushers and guides at the first round of the debate competition East High is hosting, that there is a dance competition we can go watch."

"And then, we run things like fundraisers and bake sales _in conjunction_ with the pep rally. If you run a bake sale, you'll get like a dozen people come by. Yet every man and his dog rock up to a pep rally and stand there mindlessly chanting _what team _over and over throughout the lunch break," Gabriella said.

"So we put the bake sale AT the pep rally and suddenly we have an instant success," Paula said slowly.

"It's not MY fault we're popular," Troy grumbled.

"No, but it is your responsibility to use your popularity for a good cause," Ryan said. "People here, they look to you, they look UP to you Troy. You're like a role model to a lot of the younger kids here."

"Which is why we want you to do the opening speech and unveil the years theme at the first pep rally," Gabriella declared.

Troy stared at his girlfriend like she had grown antlers. Normally at a pep rally he would stand there and chant and bask in the cheers of the crowd.

"Speech?" he repeated. "Like... a few words speech you mean?"

Gabrielal flicked through her folder, and pointed to the suggested pep rally outline she and Ryan had drawn up.

12:10 - 12:15: Troy's Speech.

Gabriella was smiling at him alluringly, even pleadingly.

"You're lucky I love you, Montez," Troy grumbled.

"I'll help you write it," she said, offering it as a consolation.

"Damn straight you will."

Another ten minutes were spent discussing specifics for the first pep rally. It was Ryan who put an end to the meeting.

"Okay I can't believe you girls aren't freaking out about needing to get ready because even **I **am freaking out. So that's it, meeting over, we'll talk about it later. Everyone right to get home? Good. See you later tonight."

And with that, he disappeared. Paula couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm so glad you guys befriended him."

"Me too," Gabriella agreed.

She glanced sideways at Troy. The expression on his face was neutral. He SAID that he was completely okay with Ryan now but obviously there was still a certain amount of uncertainty. She made a mental note at that point to initiate another conversation about Ryan - and perhaps to organise some sort of social activity in a smaller group so that the two guys could bond.

"Anyway, I'll take off then. I assume you're taking your other half home?" Paula said to Troy.

"He better be," Gabriella said.

"Maybe you can walk," Troy teased.

"Maybe I won't come over tomorrow," Gabriella threatened.

"Okay I'll give you a lift," Troy said quickly.

"Anyway, see you tonight guys!"

Paula headed over to her car, leaving Troy and Gabriella outside of his truck. He leaned forward to kiss her, but Gabriella pulled away.

"I have to go get ready. And if we start making out now then I might not be ready in time."

"Am I that irresistable?" Troy said cheekily.

Gabriella looked him in the eye. "Yes," she admitted. "Now come on. Let's go. We have a dance to get ready for!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **So after last chapter I recognise you're probably not quite as excited, but nevertheless, I would love to hear your thoughts. Still a whole lot going on...

Also, just letting you know that I put this up earlier than intended - well I put chapter 13 up earlier than intended as well - because I am going camping this week (under coersion I note. I've just gotten home to my comfy bed and DVDs and regular internet connection and my friends want to deprive me of it? There had better be some vodka involved in this trip) and so won't updating again til probably Friday at the earliest. xo


	15. Chapter 15

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Kisses and hugs to everyone for all of your reviews and support lately. A part of me wants to be caught on a secret recording device with my reactions to some of your reviews, literally shrieking and laughing out loud, so I can prove to you just how excited I get. I just go into this state of bewildered euphoric shock every time people say such lovely things. FYI camping was... fine... haha. I am alive. That's all that matters, right? Oh and I tried s'mores for the first time which was an experience that changed my life forever. Kind of like when I first watched Hairspray.

Right. The chapter. In case you didn't know from my random author's notes and also from my spelling (such as realise, colour, centre) I am from the great continent that is Australia. In Australia, Homecoming dances do not exist. Well, they didn't in my days in high school and I'm pretty sure they still don't. Given that two Americans have previewed this chapter (Waves to the beta reading team who I love) and neither had specific commentary that I did something fundamentally wrong, I am going to assume my depiction of a Homecoming dance is okay. I was talking to these Texan girls whilst I was in Europe and they were talking about parades and stuff... but then in Buffy and other American high school shows it just seems to be a dance at the start of the year with a Homecoming Queen/King as opposed to the Prom Queen/King. I decided upon the latter depiction because the former was just too damn complicated for my liking. Excuse any discrepencies. And actually, can I encourage any Americans to nitpick at anything that I depict which isn't 'American'. Is there anyone on here from New Mexico? You especially. There's only so much that Wikipedia can teach you.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Gabriella was sick of smiling. Jack Bolton was at East High helping to set up the Homecoming dance; while Troy's mother was busy packing for their one night away - although the giant suitcases would suggest they were going for longer. So Elena Montez had driven Gabriella to Ryan's for the big limo departure, picking up Troy along the way. And of course at the Bolton residence, Lucille Bolton had taken the time out of packing to join Elena in twenty minutes of photo taking.

Now at Ryan's, a similar process was taking place - however it was his fancy digital camera and his influence. Group shots (using the timer); couples photos; boys photos; girls photos; random groupings - all in various poses - had taken place.

"Kelsi, stop giggling! It's supposed to be a faraway gaze!" Ryan exclaimed, seriously exasperated.

"Sorry," she said, managing to compose herself.

"Chad, I said faraway gaze, not look of complete terror!"

Kelsi burst into giggles again, this time Martha joining in with the laughing fit.

"I have a look of terror for a very good reason Evans," Chad said. "This is fucking ridiculous."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sharpay Evans was standing in front of her full length mirror, examining her appearance. Not bad for a last minute job. After spending the week listening to Ryan's continual conversations about arriving in the limo; his 'costume' decisions; the nibblies he wanted to provide for his friends when they all arrived at the Evans household on Friday evening - she was completely sick of the dance and it hadn't even happened. Additionally, the sting of Zeke's rejection had left her feeling somewhat negative about the concept of attending the Homecoming Dance.

All week she had been adamant that she wouldn't attend.

But then on Thursday afternoon, it hit her.

Evans' aren't quitters.

So she borrowed Daddy's credit card; went to the most expensive dress shop she could find; and bought herself a magnificently hot and gorgeous outfit that was sure to blow everyone away. Then she called Brad, the quarterback of the football team. Rumour had it that he had dumped his girlfriend of about two weeks just a couple of days before. He had been harassing Sharpay for weeks to go on a date. She suspected that his reasons weren't completely pure - the rumours about Brad and blondes were well known throughout the school. Nevertheless, in terms of making impressive appearances - he would do.

She could hear the Wildcats laughing and joking as photograph after photograph was taken.

"Try... I don't know... thinking about Troy?" She heard Ryan suggest thoughtfully."You need to look happy and content, but I don't want to see you smiling."

"When I'm happy I smile!" Gabriella's voice came wafting upstairs.

Head held high, Sharpay made her way down the staircase, being careful not to trip on the bottom of her dress.

"Wow, look at you," Jason said, punctuating his sentence with a whistle.

"I thought you weren't coming," Ryan said suspiciously.

"Changed my mind," Sharpay said simply. "Anyway, I have to go wait for my date outside."

She glanced about the room, noting Zeke in the back corner with Monica. She couldn't help but notice that he was very actively not looking in her direction, instead initiating a whispered conversation with his date.

"You have a date? Who are you going with?" Ryan asked overprotectively.

"Brad."

"Brad quarterback Brad?"

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No. Just... confirming I had the right Brad."

"Umm Sharpay?" Paula spoke up tentatively. "Umm... be careful with Brad. He's... a little... pushy."

Paula was attempting to be tactful.

"I'm capable of looking after myself, thank you," Sharpay said, tossing her hair back, and turning.

"Wait! Can I get a photo of you and me?" Ryan asked, handing the camera to Kelsi.

Sharpay sighed. "I suppose," she said, like it was a massive inconvenience.

However she was quick to move close to her brother, arm around him and to flash the camera a dazzling smile.

"Can I go now?" she asked.

"Course. Uh... see you there I guess," Ryan said.

Sharpay curtly nodded before making her grand exit.

"I feel bad. You guys used to be so close," Gabriella said quietly.

Ryan snorted. "Close. Right. Me letting her order me around doesn't count as being close."

"Can't be nice being treated like crap though," Chad said.

Ryan shrugged. "It's... I don't take it personally. She's got issues."

"Clearly," Taylor remarked quietly.

"She seems to be getting better though," Troy observed. "Don't you think?"

* * *

Essentially, all school dances ran with a similar procedure. Everyone would arrive and stand around chatting up one end of the gym - the dance floor remaining a barren, empty land for at least a half hour. Gabriella was perfectly content to remain talking with her friends for as long as possible. However Ryan was insistent that she needed to get out there and mingle.

"It's a PR exercise, Gabriella. We rely upon people having trust in our leadership. They need to like us to build that trust."

She raised her eyebrows. "Right."

"Okay maybe we should just mingle for the sake of mingling," he said. "And... I don't wanna mingle on my own."

Gabriella reluctantly agreed - but of course as soon as she was out there chatting to people she'd never met who told her they'd voted for them - suddenly it seemed like a top idea. She was meeting new people who didn't ask first thing that they heard her name, "Oh, you're dating Troy Bolton, right?"

* * *

Troy, Chad, Zeke and Jason were sitting around together at the bleachers, cups of punch in hand.

"Good work boys," Troy said, nodding in approval.

"Jason did an awesome job of distracting Mr Davis," Chad said.

"Where did you put the left over vodka?" Zeke asked.

"Somewhere safe," Troy said elusively.

"Your locker isn't particularly safe," Jason said.

"No way. It's in Gabriella's locker," Troy admitted with a slight smile. "Like they'd ever check in there. Thanks for getting a hold of that, Zeke."

"That's what older cousins are for."

Chad motioned out onto the dance floor. "That bothering you, Bolton?"

Gabriella and Ryan were dancing. Okay, it was Gabriella, Ryan, Martha and Taylor who were all dancing. But nevertheless, there was Gabriella, and there was Ryan, and they were dancing.

"No," Troy said calmly.

Chad scoffed. "Not even a little?"

"Are you encouraging me to be jealous now?"

"No. But I saw you watching them like a hawk while Ryan dragged her around mingling."

"Gabriella and I are not joined at the hip. I like that she has other friends and can go out there and talk to people..."

"As long as you're here to supervise?" Zeke butted in.

Troy glared at him. "Haha, very funny."

"Have you guys seen Kelsi?" Jason asked, scanning the crowd like a hawk.

The other three groaned. "She's talking to the DJ," Chad said.

Jason softened a little. "Oh. Okay."

Gabriella and Taylor came bounding over to the boys.

"Look at you lot, sitting here being boring," Gabriella declared. "Where is your school dance spirit?"

Chad glanced down at his cup, about to make a remark, but luckily he caught the warning glare from Troy. Gabriella held her hand out to take Troy's cup, which he held away from her. "Err, are you sure you don't want me to get you your own?"

Gabriella stared at him. "I only want a little. What's wrong with you?"

"I just think that maybe... you might not want some of... this one."

"Oh please, we know what you do at these dances," Taylor said, rolling her eyes. "This isn't exactly our first dance hanging out with you guys."

"I think you put too much in the second spiked lot," Gabriella said. "I could barely drink it."

"Dammit Bolton, are you trying to get us caught?" Chad groaned.

"No!" Troy said defensively. "Next lot we'll just have to be more careful, okay? Besides, I wasn't the one who measured it out. It was Jason."

"It wasn't me, it was him," Jason said, pointing to Zeke.

"No way man!"

"We should probably do the last lot now anyway," Chad suggested.

"Okay I'll go get it," Troy said, standing up and walking away from them.

"Can I come with you?" Gabriella asked, grabbing a hold of his arm.

Troy cleared his throat. "No."

"No?!" she asked, aghast. "I've hardly seen you all night and now you don't want me to come for a walk with you?"

"Okay might I point out that you've hardly seen me because you've been off talking to people... which I'm fine with by the way," Troy added hastily. "But uh... no I don't want you to come with me because... because I don't want you to get in trouble."

Troy was satisfied with his quick save, however unfortunately not only was he dating a remarkably bright girl; but a remarkably bright girl who could put two and two together and read him like a book.

"It's in my locker, isn't it?" she asked, deadpan.

Troy didn't respond.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked, warningly. "Do you want me to come over tomorrow?"

"I'm not going to answer the question because then I implicate you."

"Get rid of it now and don't put the empty bottle back in there."

Troy nodded obediently. "Okay."

"And then come dance with me?" she asked.

Gabriella flashed him an alluring smile which Troy Bolton could never say no to.

He softened. "Okay."

* * *

All it would take would be one group of people to break the ice - often the cheerleaders - and get out there, and next thing half of those in attendance would be on the dance floor. Girls dancing in a circle with bags on the floor in the centre; boyfriends being dragged out against their will.

Gabriella and Troy were dancing. Okay. They were standing together on the dancefloor kissing, which was close to dancing. Taylor and Chad were dancing. Zeke and Monica were dancing. Hell, even Ryan and Martha were boogeying on down.

And then there were two.

Kelsi was chattering on about the progress of the preparations for the musical auditions and how she was hearing there was already a lot of interest. Jason was half listening, half mentally kicking himself.

Why did he find it so difficult?

_Hey Kels, wanna dance?_

Four simple words. Four simple words which had no strings attached. It wasn't asking her out, it wasn't committing to anything. It was a stupid dance.

"Hey Kels?" Jason asked.

"Yeah?"

He cleared his throat. "Do you uh... do you... do you want another cup of punch?"

* * *

The moment Gabriella had dragged Troy onto the dance floor, they both realised that it had been a bad idea in a public forum. Dancing meant touching. Touching now created a spark. The spark led to innocent kisses. And innocent kisses were now always bound to lead to not so innocent kisses.

"Troy, I don't think it's appropriate for the class vice president to be doing this in front of all the teachers," Gabriella murmured, pulling away from his embrace.

"You wanna stop making out?" Troy asked, somewhat disappointed.

"No. I want to go somewhere else," she said shyly.

"Oh. Well then, that can certainly be arranged."

Troy led Gabriella out the back door of the gymnasium. The moment they were in the fresh air, Gabriella pulled him towards her, initiating a deep kiss.

"Okay I've got an even better plan for privacy than right here two feet from the entry to the dance," Troy murmured, but nevertheless kissing her back.

Gabriella broke away long enough to say, "Lead the way."

Troy turned her around, pushing her to walk along backwards along the path. Gabriella was trying her very hardest to step carefully, however walking backwards was hard enough under regular circumstances; let alone while she was wearing high heels, a long dress, and had her eyes closed and lips attached to a blue eyed basketball captain. There wasn't far to go, and Troy was holding her slim waist as he manoeuvred her along the path. There was a perk to being the son of the head of the physical education faculty. Troy had observed and memorised the pin codes providing access to the various entry ways into the gym. Including the locker rooms; which on that night were not accessible from the gym itself. They were always locked during school dances - specifically for the purpose of preventing students from slipping off unsupervised.

"Okay as class vice president you should look away right now because you will be obliged to report something," Troy warnned.

Gabriella smirked and covered her eyes with her hand as Troy entered the pin code.

"Wow, Gabriella, the back door to the locker rooms is open. I wonder how on earth that happened?" he said, mocking surprise.

She giggled, pushing him backwards into the empty locker room and slamming the door behind them. It was a second later that her lips were on his. Troy kissed her back, his hands cupping her face as he guided her further into the room, pushing her up against the back wall.

"Don't ruin my dress," Gabriella warned half heartedly, but not particularly caring at that given moment.

His hands wandered away from her face, now running down her back and squeezing her ass gently. Her breath hitched as Troy's hands ran back up her sides and cupped her breasts, squeezing gently. Her hand dropped to his hip, fumbling with his black leather belt and the fly of his dress pants.

* * *

In an almost identical fashion, Taylor and Chad had wound up making out in the corner of the gymnasium. However Taylor's request to search for privacy was not driven by a fear of being caught. It was driven purely and simply by the need for privacy.

"I know the code to the locker room," Chad murmured into her ear.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that and you can just pretend that it was magically open."

Chad grinned, and quickly pulled her out the back door and along the side of the gymnasium. With one hand Chad was entering the code, and the other was groping around Taylor's dress, searching for a zipper.

"You are very efficient," Taylor said, kissing him hard.

"You must have rubbed off on me."

The door creaked open, and instead of being greeted by the welcoming privacy of a dark and empty locker room - they were met by the sight of Gabriella with her hand situated in a somewhat compromising position down Troy's boxer briefsl.

Gabriella's eyes widened upon seeing them, snatching her hand away. Troy quickly pulled his pants up.

"Jesus fuck Danforth get your own fucking room," Troy snapped.

"Uh... umm...sorry?" Chad said meekly.

"I'm going... umm... out... away..." Gabriella stammered, snatching up her handbag from the floor and darting past Taylor and Chad and out the door.

"When did THIS develop and WHY was I not informed?!" Chad exclaimed the moment she had left.

Taylor looked at Troy approvingly. "I'm impressed. You didn't tell him straight away. Props to you."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Enjoy the locker room, I'm going to find my girlfriend."

* * *

Zeke and Monica were sitting out the front of the school on the front steps. He had laid down his jacket for her to sit on, not wanting her to spoil her dress.

"I'm glad you agreed to come with me tonight," Zeke said.

"Me too," Monica said quietly.

Zeke had picked up her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. When he leaned over to kiss her, she allowed him to. She even allowed the kiss to deepen. But when Zeke's hand fell upon her thigh, she pulled away.

"I don't want to have sex with you tonight," she said honestly.

Zeke cleared his throat. "Oh... umm... okay. Uh... may I ask why not?"

"Because if we're going to do this, then we're going to do it right this time. And go on a real date first."

Zeke broke into a smile. "So if I asked you on a real date you'd say yes?"

"Maybe."

"Monica!"

"You'll have to ask and then we'll find out what I would say."

"Despite popular belief, I don't enjoy being rejected, especially not multiple times by the same girl."

"I've already turned you down so many times that one more time shouldn't be a big deal," she teased.

Zeke glared at her. "Maybe I don't wanna go out with you anymore."

"As if."

Zeke grinned. "Monica... do you wanna go out with me next weekend?"

"I'll check my schedule and get back to you," she said aloofly. "But I think it's safe to say it'll be a yes."

* * *

Jason and Kelsi were still sitting together, talking randomly about this and that and everything. Jason wasn't the world's biggest talker but with Kelsi, sometimes he found himself commenting on things he'd never thought about before.

"Looks like they're all umm... doing something that they felt they couldn't do here," Kelsi remarked with a smile, gesturing to the dance floor.

Jason now noticed the absence of his three buddies and their respective partners.

"Looks like," he commented, feeling only a tint bit jealous.

Yeah. Just a _tiny_ bit.

Kelsi cleared her throat. "Hey Jase... wanna dance?"

He looked up to see her looking at him hopefully.

"Uh... I'm not much of a dancer," he said awkwardly.

"That's okay. Neither am I." She grabbed his hand. "Come on!"

* * *

Troy headed straight for the one place where he suspected he would find his girlfriend.

"You just love my hiding spot, huh?" he remarked as he climbed the stairs up to the science club garden.

"You shoulda known that once you showed it to me all those months ago that I would hijack it," she responded quietly.

He sat down beside her on the bench, resting his hand on her thigh.

"Sorry."

Gabriella looked at him sharply. "Don't be sorry. I'm not mad at you, it's not your fault. I just... I just needed to think is all."

"Good think or bad think?"

"Reflect think. Neither good or bad. I just... you know... less than a week ago I was... different. And now... I'm at a school dance giving out hand jobs in the locker room?"

"Well technically the hand job never really eventuated," Troy said teasingly.

She smiled, ducking her head. "But it would have."

"Is it... is it too fast? I know I sound like a broken record asking you that but..."

"You do sound like a broken record, although I appreciate the concern. But seriously, I would tell you if I wasn't comfortable."

Troy nodded. "Okay. Good."

"I ummm... I still really wanna come over tomorrow," Gabriella said, gazing at him. "Like... really really wanna."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

He pressed his lips to hers lightly, tantalisingly.

"Just as long as Chad isn't going to randomly rock up," Gabriella added.

"I will absolutely make sure of that."

* * *

After the discovery of Troy and Gabriella in such a compromising position, suddenly Chad and Taylor's needs for privacy were no longer required. They'd gone back into the gym, sitting down at the bleachers with a cups of punch in hand. Taylor was enjoying people watching. Martha and Ryan were in the process of starting a conga line. Jason and Kelsi were dancing somewhat tenatively in the corner. Chad's mind was somewhat preoccupied, hence the move back to the gym.

"I can't believe Troy didn't tell me!" Chad exclaimed.

"Yes Chad, I already know you're upset about this. Isn't it time you moved on?" Taylor said, yawning.

It was the fifth time he'd made this exclamation. Chad sighed, falling quiet. Five seconds later, he had another outburst.

"Seriously Tay, he should have told me!"

"Maybe Troy thought it would be nice to respect Gabriella's privacy?" Taylor suggested. "I'm not exactly finding it encouraging that you are so shocked here. Do you run and tell Troy about everything that you and I do?"

"Well no actually I don't," Chad said, very honestly.

The previous year when he and Taylor had escalated beyond making out before they were dating, Chad had never really told Troy the full story of what happened - although he gave enough detail that Troy could deduce what exactly had gone on.

"But this is different. This is massive and monumental," Chad said. "These two have been dancing around this for so long."

Suddenly, it hit Chad. "You already knew! That's why you're not as... as shocked as I am!"

Taylor sighed. "I didn't KNOW for sure. I knew that Gabriella had asked me for advice about the issue and so that it was likely to happen sometime soon. And... and I kind of got the vibe from them that things had changed."

"Hey guys," Zeke said cheerfully, he and Monica approaching them hand in hand. "Interrupting anything?"

"No, please join, change the subject," Taylor said encouragingly.

"They're gonna make the announcement soon," Monica said.

"The announcement?" Chad asked.

"King and Queen. Duh."

"I still think this whole process is ridiculous. Most people don't even vote," Taylor said.

"If you had really wanted to win though, you could have campaigned and gotten people to vote," Monica said.

"I don't even know who nominated me. It was probably a joke," Taylor said.

"You would be a very worthy queen," Chad said, kissing her cheek softly.

"If I won, I would run out that door. In fact, there would be a Taylor shaped hole in this wall right here."

* * *

Up the back of the room, Sharpay was standing in the corner with Brad.

"Then last year, we SHOULD have made it to the final but the ref in our first play off game was so biased it wasn't funny," Brad said.

Sharpay was staring at the wall behind his head. For two hours, she'd listened to him talking about football. Two hours. After about two minutes in the car on the way she'd nearly snapped at him, but then it occured to her that a pissed off Brad wouldn't provide her with the stunning appearance that she wanted.

"I went to football camp over summer, I think I'm a shoo in for captain this year," Brad kept droning on.

Sharpay couldn't think of anyone in the universe who talked about themself as much as Brad. She had tried changing the subject, she had tried talking about herself - but even that didn't work. Suddenly, a plan came to mind.

"Hey Brad?" Sharpay said, trying to sound a little breathy.

"Yeah?"

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. A motion which he very much so responded to.

She didn't particularly WANT to be kissing him but she didn't exactly object to the action. And it worked. There was finally no Brad talking.

* * *

"Uh everyone, if I can have your attention?" The head cheerleader from the previous year, Dee, was standing on stage.

In East High tradition, the King and Queen from the previous year were invited back to crown the new winner. The King - being at College in New York - was unavailable. Leaving the job to Dee.

"I am very excited to announce your new Homecoming King and Queen..." Dee opened the envelope. "For Homecoming King we have Troy Bolton... and for Homecoming Queen... we have Gabriella Montez!"

Applause and cheers rang out through the gymnasium. The spotlight flickered around, trying to find the couple in the crowd.

The couple who were currently not present.

* * *

Gabriella had initiated a kiss with such a fervour that it threw Troy. He stumbled backwards a little, stopped by the railing above the stairwell. He wacked into it fairly hard but didn't feel a thing. Gabriella was tugging at Troy's tie, unhappy with the way it restricted her access to unbutton his shirt.

"Why don't you just wear a damn clip on," she murmured, pulling away from their kiss so she could see what she was doing.

"My mom wouldn't let me," Troy said, yanking at his tie for her and tossing it aside. It fell on top of one of the nearby potted plants.

"I'm sure your mom wouldn't like you doing all sorts of things," she replied softly, before trailing kisses along his neck.

"I don't like talking about my mom while we're making out."

"That's fine. Less talk is better."

Troy's hand ran down Gabriella's back, squeezing her ass. She groaned as her cell phone began to ring from her handbag which she had left on the bench.

"Ignore it," Troy murmured.

"I am."

Two seconds after Gabriella's cell stopped ringing, Troy's cell phone began to ring inside his pocker. He snatched it out, glancing at the screen before groaning.

"Fucking Danforth," he muttered, before answering the call. "What!?" he snapped, his annoyance evident. "Oh... OH. Umm... I guess we better come back then."

* * *

One minute she'd been kissing him in the gymnasium, and then the announcement for King and Queen was made. In the flurry of excitement over the lack of Troy and Gabriella, Sharpay had allowed Brad to lead her outside behind the building.

"Why are we out here?" Sharpay asked.

Brad smiled. "Thought you might like a little privacy."

He pressed his lips to hers again, initiating a far more rigorous kiss. Sharpay pulled away.

"I think I want to go back inside," she said quietly.

"Oh come on baby, don't be like that," Brad cooed, kissing her again.

A hand landed on her thigh, running up her leg. She was now regretting wearing the dress with the split up the leg.

"No really I..."

"Ssshhhh..."

"Brad... I really would rather go back in."

"Yeah, you have to say that, I get that."

Sharpay's tiny wrist grabbed at his hand which had crept higher than she considered acceptable. She might be small but she was strong, and she pushed his hand away firmly, standing up from the bench they were sitting at.

"Get away from me," she said firmly.

Brad sighed impatiently. "I think you're making a mistake here. We could be good together baby, think about it."

The thought of it sent chills up Sharpay's spine.

"Dude, I think she said she wants to go back inside," a voice said from behind.

Sharpay looked up. Never in her life had she been as grateful to see Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez as she was at that moment. Not that she would admit that.

"Fuck off Troy," Sharpay snapped.

The pleading look in her eye said otherwise.

"Bolton," Brad greeted him.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Having a good night?"

"I was."

Brad glanced at Sharpay. "You said you wanted to go back inside. I'm going in now. Wanna come?"

"You can go wherever you like but not within ten feet of me," Sharpay said. "This date is over."

Brad exhaled, deciding it wasn't worth it. "Suit yourself. Might go see if I can find Liana."

Once Brad was out of earshot, Sharpay finally spoke. "You missed your crowning."

"Uh... so we found out," Troy said quietly. "No biggie."

She didn't say anything, just stared at the ground. "I'm gonna go back inside," she said quietly.

"Sharpay?" Gabriella asked, stepping forward.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Fabulous Gabriella, my night has been fucking fabulous."

Gabriella looked hurt. Yet another hand out to smooth things over with Sharpay. Yet another slap in the face.

Sharpay turned, taking a few steps towards the gym. She then turned around. "Umm... are you guys going back in the limo?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Think there's room for one more? I uh... I kinda think I won't be getting a ride with Brad."

Troy smiled. "It is your family's limo so I suppose we can squeeze you in."

Sharpay nodded. "Uh... thanks," she said, a little awkwardly.

"Everyone is inside... wanna come join?" Gabriella asked.

"I suppose. Nothing better to do," she said aloofly.

The slight smile on her face and the look of gratitude in her eye indicated that it were anything but.

Baby steps were better than nothing.


	16. Chapter 16

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **A gigantic thank you as per usual to Martin and Ayen for previewing my work; and a happy birthday to Ayen for... ummm as I post, in Australian time it's in about a half hour :-P

* * *

**Chapter 16**

The limo dropped each of the Wildcats back at their houses. At Gabriella's house, Troy jumped out to walk her to the door step - of course purely because he was a gentleman. Not because he wanted to kiss her good night or anything. That was just a perk. And a perk he took advantage of.

"Don't forget to call me the minute they leave," Gabriella murmured as she pulled away from their embrace.

"Isn't someone looking forward to tomorrow," Troy said teasingly.

Gabriella blushed. "I wouldn't complain, you."

"Not complaining. And like I'd forget to call. I'll be sitting with my cell phone hovering over your name as they pack up the car."

One more lingering kiss and the couple finally said good night.

The look of longing in Gabriella's eye combined with the series of interruptions - Troy was suddenly feeling a bit nervous. He was feeling a pressure. A pressure to 'perform.' To perform when he'd never really tried to perform before, unless his wasted encounter with Anita at the Christmas Ball after party the year before was counted. Even before taking off his rented suit, Troy sent Chad a text message.

**Ur not working 2moro, r u?**

_No. Sunday. Y?_

**Meet me at Jamba? 12:30?**

_K. C u there._

* * *

While Troy was attempting to teach children how to swing a golf club, Gabriella was in a situation which brought a sense of deja va back to her first date with her boyfriend. She remembered having just about every item from her wardrobe strewn across the bed. It was 9 on Saturday morning, and she had not only every item of clothing strewn across the bed - but also every item from her underwear drawer. Suddenly her white bras and flowered cotton underwear seemed completely unacceptable.

She dialled Taylor's number, waiting impatiently for her friend to answer.

"Please, please tell me that you have a couple of hours free from, like, NOW," Gabriella pleaded.

"I can make a couple of hours free if you need me to," Taylor responded calmly, sensing her friends tone, and suspecting the general reason for it.

"Excellent."

* * *

Within two hours, Gabriella's skills of organisation and efficiency had been applied within the shopping mall setting, and she had purchased a series of more appropriate items - making a large dent within her savings account. She had tried to convince Taylor that she needed to go home immediately to get ready.

"Troy is still at work for like an hour. And you said Mrs Bolton is working until 2. He won't be calling you until like 3. Why don't we stop and grab a smoothie?"

Gabriella was agreeable, so the girls headed to the juice bar and took seats in the back corner.

"There, don't you feel more relaxed now?" Taylor asked.

"Uh... I guess. But I wasn't stressed to begin with," Gabriella insisted.

Taylor raised her eyebrows. "Not at all? You're not the slightest bit nervous? For most peple, when this stuff happens, it just happens spontaneously, naturally. Meanwhile you've had days to contemplate and think and prepare and talk yourself into being nervous. And you're telling me that you're not nervous?"

"You'd think I would be nervous, given that it was obviously me and not Troy who was holding off from going down this path. But I'm not. Okay I am a little, but it's controllable nerves. I think more than anything, there has been so much making out and so much anticipation since then that I don't care about being nervous. I want it. Simple. It's like... something has just clicked in my brain and I don't know why I was so wary. I just really really want it..."

Taylor was watching the faraway dreamy expression on Gabriella's face, a smile toying on her lips. "Okay I am going to do everything within my power to make sure Chad does not find a way to interrupt because I think you, my friend, are going to EXPLODE if something doesn't happen today."

Gabriella blushed. "Am I that transparent?"

"Uh... yeah. But it's okay." Taylor paused, contemplating how to word the following statement. "Uh... have you... have you set a line with yourself? You know... of how far you want to go?"

Gabriella paused contemplatively. "Umm... well I like taking things gradually. I think it's nice being able to do things step at a time. But... I guess ultimately I want to see what happens. I don't think I'll know until I'm with him and we're... doing whatever we're going to do."

"Fair enough."

"I think Troy will want to take it slow as well. He keeps asking, are you okay, am I going too fast, am I freaking you out. I can't blame him for being like that, I'm the one who has conditioned him into thinking that way."

"From what I gather, Troy was somewhat of a 'gentleman' before you as well. I think it's a combination of him being him; and him knowing you."

"I suppose."

"Gabriella, seriously though - are you okay?"

Gabriella nodded, a small smile on her face. "More than okay. It feels... it's right. It's natural. It's time."

"Okay then. Now that's sorted - we have decisions to make."

"Decisions?"

"In regards to costuming. Can I recommend you wear a skirt?"

"Why?" Gabriella asked.

"Do I need to spell it out?" Taylor asked with a sigh. Gabriella stared blankly back at her. "Obviously I do."

* * *

An hour and half later, at the very same juice bar in the very same back secluded corner, Troy and Chad were sitting across from one another.

"Troy. We've been here for a half hour. We've discussed the kids at the country club; the hot check out staff at my work; the weather; my math assignment; your need to purchase a new shirt and Miss Darbus. Let's cut to the chase. Why are we here?"

Troy sighed. "Okay. Fine. Err... I um... I kinda want your advice."

"My advice?"

"Yeah. Your advice."

"Okay. Ask away."

Troy cleared his throat. "You and Taylor uh... you uh... you do... stuff? Right?"

Chad stared at him. "Yes Troy. We do 'stuff' as you put it."

"And... you and Kayla did also?"

"Yeah..." Chad said slowly.

"They umm... they umm... they enjoy it, don't they?"

"I would HOPE so!"

"Right. Of course." Troy sighed. "So my parents are going to this wedding tonight and staying in Santa Fe so Gabriella is coming over and I think stuff is going to happen. Well stuff started to happen this week - which I guess you figured out last night - but now it's REALLY starting to happen and uh... I realised that I really don't have a fucking clue what I'm doing."

"You want sex advice?" Chad said bluntly.

Troy glanced around wildly. "You don't have to say it so loudly!" he hissed. "And... yeah. I guess. Not... not sex advice but... the stuff before sex advice. Uh... I want to make sure that I know how to... well... I want her to... to enjoy herself."

"You want to make her cum?" Chad said bluntly - this time at least lowering his voice slightly.

"If you want to make it sound so vulgar, yeah, that's what I want to do."

Chad grinned. "I do believe you have come to the right person. I'm so glad you didn't go to Zeke about this because I have it on good authority that I have far better skills than Zeke."

"Good authority?"

"Zeke and Kayla hooked up before I went out with her."

"They did?!" Troy exclaimed. "I so didn't know that. Wow. The guy really is working his way around the cheerleaders, huh?"

"Anyway. Back to the topic at hand. I feel like I need a diagram..." Chad fished through his backpack, finding a pen and grabbing a napkin. "This will do. Welcome to sex ed, Chad style."

* * *

As Chad was giving Troy a crash course in female anatomy, Gabriella was returning home with her newly purchased items. She dashed up the stairs, calling hello to her mother along the way. Elena poked her head out just in time to see the label on the shopping bag that Gabriella had, narrowing her eyes at the sight of it. Elena was pacing downstairs, contemplating whether to initiate a conversation or not. She didn't want to be the overprotective mother - she and Gabriella had always had a very open relationship and when Gabriella had told her she would come to her to discuss 'the matter' when the time came, Elena wanted to believe her. After a half hour, Elena couldn't stand it and decided she simply had to go up.

She knocked on her daughter's door, being called inside. The sight of Gabriella applying make up in front of the mirror brought back a distinctive memory from about six months earlier. Gabriella had been preparing for her first date with Troy, and had struggled with her make up, requiring Elena's assistance. Now, the make up application was taking place with ease. Tags from her new purchases had been ripped off and were lying on the bed.

"You look nice," Elena remarked.

"Umm yeah. I'm going over to Troy's soon," Gabriella said, trying to sound casual.

"You do realise that I know that Lucy and Jack aren't there," Elena said quietly.

Gabriella exhaled. "Are you suggesting that Troy and I can't hang out without parental supervision? We go out on dates all the time."

"No. No that's not what I'm suggesting. But sweetheart... given... given what I witnessed last week, you can't blame me for wanting to talk about this," Elena said gently.

"I promise you that we're not having sex yet," Gabriella said adamantly.

"Yet," Elena said, with emphasis upon Gabriella's usage of the word. First it had been **when**. Now, it was **yet**. "We are meant to have the talk BEFORE the event happens."

"I'm not stupid mommy. I know... I know you're only worried because you care but... I love Troy. And... and he loves me. I'm not that girl who is going to make a stupid decision."

"Have you thought about The Pill?" Elena asked.

"I was planning to book a doctors appointment to talk about it," Gabriella said.

"That's... that's good."

"See? Responsible."

"I never suggested you weren't. I just... have to ask these things. You know that."

Gabriella hugged her mom. "I know. And I appreciate that you care."

"You do realise that your curfew will remain in place tonight?" Elena said, arms wrapped around her daughter.

"Of course."

"And... and if you give me grandchildren before I'm 50..."

"No grandchildren before you're 50. Got it."

* * *

While Gabriella was fussing about with make up and having mother daughter talks, Troy was fussing about his house. He'd been to the grocery store after his chat with Chad, purchasing strawberries and diet soda - favourites of Gabriella's. He then returned home, not only tidying his bedroom but also making his bed with fresh clean sheets. Appropriate CDs were placed by the stereo. Fortunately for Troy, his mother had about a half hour between returning home from work and needing to leave for Santa Fe that she was too busy with her own preparations to notice his behaviour. Jack was not oblivious however - he'd passed Troy as he was dumping his old sheets in the laundry. He chose to not say a word.

* * *

Per instruction, as Troy was waving to his parents as they backed down the driveway - meanwhile, with his other hand he had his cell in his hand and was dialling her number.

"Do you want me to come pick you up?" he asked.

"No it's fine I'll walk. See you soon."

Troy knew that she must have been ready to leave because ten minutes later, the doorbell rang and he opened it to find Gabriella.

"Hey beautiful," he greeted her.

"Hey," she said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"So, did you want to go out and grab dinner or…"

Gabriella brought her hand up to his lips, silencing him. "No, I think we should stay in."

Troy had barely closed the door behind her when Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck and initiated a steamy kiss.

"What was that for?" Troy asked with a grin. Their faces were inches apart, arms still wrapped around one another.

"It was a hello," Gabriella said softly.

"I think you should say hello like that more often," he murmured.

"Well… it was a 'hello, I've been thinking about you all damn day Troy Bolton'. You've infected my brain. I've decided the only cure is more of this."

Gabriella's kisses were more hungry than normal, more urgent. They broke apart, a little breathless.

"Should we… should we sit somewhere?" Troy asked awkwardly. "Uh… in the lounge or… or… upstairs?"

"Upstairs," Gabriella said insistently.

Troy led her up the stairs, holding hands the whole way. She threw her shoulder bag in the corner and kicked off her ballet flats. Troy meanwhile was standing by the stereo.

"Any music preferences? I could put on..."

Gabriella's hands snaked around him from behind, taking the CD case that was in his hand and dropping it onto the counter.

"Whatever is in there already is fine," she murmured, reaching over and pressing play.

"Good thing I wasn't listening to something embarrassing before you arrived huh?" he responded, as Gabriella turned him around, clutching onto his t-shirt and pulling him toward her.

"I don't care about the music right now," she said, pulling him down for a soft kiss.

Short soft kisses became deep, lingering, lustful kisses. Gabriella made quick work of Troy's t-shirt, separating from his lips for just long enough to toss the shirt aside. Feeling his warm, muscular arms and abs was now a definite prerequisite for a steamy make out session. Troy's hands were roaming over Gabriella's body, down her back, squeezing her ass, roaming over her front and up her shirt, caressing her breasts. She didn't shy away from fiddling with his belt and unbuttoning his jeans. Even as his pants fell to the floor and he stepped out of them to kick them aside, their lips remained united. Troy's lips broke away from hers as he proceeded to kiss and nibble along her jaw line and neck.

"Troy?"

"Mmm?"

"We've been making out for like twenty minutes. And... as lovely as this is, in this time I've managed to remove both your shirt and your jeans. I know you're holding back on me and to be frank I'm feeling severely overdressed."

"I just... I guess... I want to take things slow," Troy said carefully.

"If you want to take it slow then that's fine. But I think you're doing it purely for my benefit and I don't know how many times and how many ways I can say that you don't need to be. I don't... I don't like the idea of you censoring and repressing your behaviour. Because I sense you holding back, and when I feel like you're holding back, it makes me hold back. I want you to do whatever comes natural to you. If you go too far, I'll tell you."

"Are you sure?" Troy said.

"You're doing it again!" Gabriella exclaimed, giggling. She pulled him towards her, kissing him deeply. "Yes I am sure."

Troy took a deep breath, gazing into her eyes. "Okay. You want me to do what comes naturally?"

A slight smile fell upon his face. He stood up, grabbed Gabriella and kissed her hungrily, furiously, lustfully. His lips didn't leave hers even as he pushed her backwards onto the bed and hovered over her, somehow deepening the kiss even further. Gabriella was highly responsive, hands raking through his hair, over his abs, down his back and to his ass. His hands ran down her sides and then back up, catching onto the hem her shirt and tugging at it. Gabriella sat up, allowing him to tug the shirt off and toss it aside. His lips attached her neck, eliciting a gasp as they fell upon the swell of her breast. He took a moment to admire the royal blue lace but the truth was that he was far more interested in what lay beneath it. One hand was busy kneading, caressing, squeezing; while the other was fumbling behind her back and at her bra clasp. Meanwhile, Gabriella's hands had graduated from externally caressing him, to tugging on the waistband of his plaid cotton boxers, allowing her to grasp onto his length.

She was becoming annoyed with his awkward fumbling and gently guided him to sit up, allowing her also to sit up and provide him with access to her clasp with both hands - and visibility to look over her shoulder at what he was doing.

"A very important lesson for a man to learn," she said softly, planting kisses along his jawline and neck as he struggled for a moment, and then popped the clasp open.

Troy watched in amazement as Gabriella allowed the straps to slide down and her bra fell to the floor. He took a moment to do nothing but look at his girlfriend. Her breasts were round and pert, not too big, enough to cup a hand around. She had dark pink areolas and her nipples were erect. Troy felt himself become harder.

"They're kinda small," Gabriella commented, breaking Troy out of his daze.

He tore his eyes away and looked up into her eyes. He could see how self conscious she was feeling - something he completely understood, he had felt just as self conscious earlier in the week.

"They're perfect," Troy pronounced.

Their lips met in another kiss, as Troy's hands gently ran up Gabriella's taut stomach, cupped her breasts, and gently squeezed. His lips left hers, and trailed along her chin, down her neck, her shoulders and finally reached the swell of her breast once again - this time with no lace in the way. Her breaths became shallow as Troy's suckling became more insistent, moving down to tease her nipple with his teeth. Her hand tightened around his penis, her strokes increasing in speed. She gently guided his head up from her breasts, feeling a desperate need to be kissing him. Her lips captured his furiously, his length growing in her hand. Troy was panting slightly into her mouth as he felt himself approaching his peak. She pulled away from his lips, gazing into his eyes as he grunted and moaned as he tipped over the edge.

She watched him as he closed his eyes in the aftermath, trying to even out his breathing. She felt an overwhelming sense of power, a feeling that she felt she would never grow tired of. Her eyes were darting around the room, spotting her shirt on the floor. She swung her legs over the bed, leaning down to pick it up with her 'cleaner' hand.

"Where do you think you are going and WHY are you holding onto your shirt?" Troy demanded.

"Ummm to wash my hands. And... because I don't want to walk around half naked?"

Troy grabbed the shirt from her, tossing it aside.

"The hand washing I will permit but you are not going anywhere without me. The shirt is banned." He jumped up, pulling her into him, her lips now covered with his. Even as she walked up the corridor, he allowed himself to be pushed along backwards in the direction of the bathroom. She giggled into his lips as he opened the door, turned on the tap and handed her the soap to speed the process - the whole time, not halting the kiss.

"All clean now?" he murmured.

"Uh huh," Gabriella replied.

One hand was now placed on the back of his head, playing with the hair at the nape of his beck; the other lazily running over his back.

"Good," Troy replied.

He guided her back down the hallway returning to his bedroom. Gabriella squealed as he once again pushed her back onto the bed, lips once again trailing from her lips, down her neck, this time attention being directed to her other breast. His right hand was running up and down her thigh, and gradually shifting from her outer thigh to her inner thigh, and travelling further north. His left hand began to pry at the waistband of her skirt. Gabriella's instant reaction was to grab onto his hand, holding it.

"Can you... can you leave it?" she asked, somewhat hesitantly. The questioning look on his face caused her to hastily add, "It's not that I don't want you to... erm.. you know. But I'd rather... you leave my skirt."

"So you have the right to undress me as you please and I have to wait to see you?" Troy asked, somewhat coyly.

Gabriella nodded, and smiled. "Uh huh."

"That's fine," he said simply.

"It is?"

"Of course. Now if you'll excuse me I'm somewhat busy," he murmured, before relatching his lips onto her breast.

Her breathing was already shallow, and the added anticipation of his hand travelling further north from just above her knee and up her thigh was intoxicating. As his hand reached just inches away from her centre, he pulled away from her insistent kisses. He looked her in the eye for a moment, silently seeking approval. Her response was to pull his head back down to kiss him deeply. Troy took that as a sign that the move he wanted to make was perfectly acceptable.

Gabriella gasped as his index finger ran lightly over her mound, shuddering slightly. Even through underwear, her arousal was evident and Troy was suddenly very determined. He could feel himself getting hard - one of the abilities that came with his teenage composition was efficient recovery. Troy was planting soft kisses all over her neck and shoulders and breasts as his hand gently rubbed through her panties. Her breaths were becoming more shallow, little whimpers escaping from her lips. She was so close to tipping over the edge and yet so far. Never in her life had she felt as charged and aroused as she did in that moment in time.

She had been casually playing with his length, a movement which had so quickly become so natural, if not synonymous with kissing him. As Troy's fingers lightly stroked her, she was finding it increasingly difficult to continue to concentrate. Finally she surrendered, not even trying to reciprocate. Troy didn't mind - the outcome he was aiming for was Gabriella's pleasure, not his own. As much as he loved his girlfriend's slender fingers teasing him, it was awfully distracting.

Deliberately and yet cautiously, Troy slipped his hand beneath the waistband of her panties, kissing her deeply as he followed a similar motion of stroking, exploring her folds. Despite the new territory, he instinctively knew what to do - with thanks to both Chad and the marvels of the world wide web. He broke away from their kiss to watch her face as he gently entered his right index finger inside of her. Her eyes were closed, her mouth formed an O and she gasped slightly at the peculiar sensation of having someone else feeling inside of her. Troy's next move was to contemplate entering another finger - which was when he realised just how tight she was. Gabriella pulled him back down to kiss him softly as he began to slowly move his fingers inside of her.

At first it just felt nice, perculiar, but nice. The combination of his soft kisses and teasing fingers with his free hand roaming over her breasts was somewhat surreal. And then suddenly, it hit her. She could feel what had felt _nice_ building into something that was... also nice, but a whole lot more. Their was an ache deep in her abdomen, a good ache though, but an ache which longed to be satiated. Her breathing was becoming increasingly ragged, her chest heaving, little whimpers and moans escaping from her mouth. She had at first felt a little embarrassed about the concept of making such sounds, but now she no longer cared. It was her natural response because what Troy was doing to her was making her feel in a way that she never realised she could feel. Her skin was hot and tingling, and could feel it building up in every inch of her body.

Troy couldn't help but watch his girlfriend's face in awe as he brought her over the edge. She shuddered and writhed beneath him. He didn't remove his fingers, maintaining the movement, feeling as she vibrated around him.

The sight of Gabriella's orgasm alone was enough to make Troy even harder than he already was. She was lying back, eyes closed tightly as she continued to pant ever so slightly.

"Oh my God…" she breathed. "Oh my God… I've never… oh my God…"

She wasn't sure what to do. Whether to just lie there and revel in the after wave; whether to grab him and kiss him. Troy somehow sensed her restlessness.

"Just lie there, it's okay," he murmured, kissing her softly.

She nodded, closing her eyes, and allowing his warm arms to wrap around her. They remained lying together on his bed for a long time; hands lazily stroking one another's arms and backs; every so often exchanging a slow, lingering kiss. It was Gabriella who was first to speak.

"Have you thought about… about… us? Having… I mean… thought about it in detail?" Gabriella asked shyly.

"Yes I've thought about making love to you," Troy answered, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. "In very graphic detail I might add. Detail which is becoming increasingly graphic by the day."

"So you want to do it? I mean… obviously you want to but… you really want to?"

"When you're ready. When the timing is right. Yeah I do," Troy said honestly.

In perfect timing, Gabriella's stomach grumbled, eliciting a giggle.

"Wow that was very alluring of me," she murmured.

"You hungry?"

"A little," she admitted. "But I don't particularly feel inclined to leave your arms."

Troy smiled, pressing a light kiss to her nose.

"You could stay over if you like," he suggested coyly. "I mean, I wasn't explicitly told that no one was allowed to stay over…"

Gabriella shook her head. "Uh no, but your mom did tell my mom that they are going away. Remember, last night, she was here before the dance..."

"Wow that feels like a million years ago."

"Tell me about it. But yes so... curfew in place." Gabriella glanced at the digital clock beside Troy's bed. "In which case... I have quite a while before I need to be home."

Her tone was coy, a slight smile on her face.

"And how are the hours going to be filled?" Troy asked, his warm breath tickling against her face.

Gabriella's stomach grumbled again.

"With food to start with," he declared, answering his own question.

Gabriella groaned. "I don't wanna get up."

Troy sat up, kneeling, and without warning he scooped her up into his arms, eliciting a fit of giggles. "You have to at least put underwear on Troy. You have these giant open windows downstairs."

"Why are you so damn practical?"

He set her back down onto the bed and turned away for a moment to pull on a pair of sweat pants. He turned back around and smiled slightly, watching Gabriella, standing topless. She was about to reach for own clothing, but instead rejected it in favour of picking up one of his t-shirts which had been hanging on the back of his desk chair.

"To the food," she declared.

"To the food," Troy agreed.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked.

"Mmm?"

"I kinda love you."

"Just kinda?"

"More than kinda. And that's not what you're supposed to say!"

"Love you too."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **More fingernail biting. And just so you know, the night doesn't end there. Saturday night continues next chapter, I just needed to divide the chapter somewhere and where better than on a declaration of love :-) Review? Pretty please? -Dani xo


	17. Chapter 17

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

* * *

**Chapter 17**

On Saturday night, Chad and Taylor didn't even try to pretend that they were going to the drive in to 'watch the movie.' They were there to fool around. Full stop. Hence arriving almost a half hour early and finding the 'best' location in the lot - being the far back corner under tree coverage which provided an illusion of additional privacy. Chad clambered to the refreshment stand, returning with two overpriced sodas. Taylor was already waiting in the backseat for his arrival.

She wasn't ashamed to admit that she highly enjoyed the physical side of their relationship. Having spent time recently discussing it fairly openly with Gabriella had caused additional contemplation about it. Which meant that Taylor found herself thinking about him and craving him more often.

For all the calamity of their relationship, Troy and Gabriella's bond had developed on the classic level. Boy meets girl. Boy falls for girl. Girl falls for boy. Cautious flirtation. Tentative dating. More serious dating. They fall even harder. Big dramatic argument with a make up bringing them closer. Love. And now... physicality.

Chad and Taylor unofficially met in middle school, but neither could ever recall a time of officially meeting. In a larger school with people running in separate crowds - often you know who the other is without ever directly dealing with them. As the years went on, both Chad and Taylor grew further into their respective stereotypes. Taylor thought he was just a dumb jock. Chad thought she was just a boring geek.

...

"Fuck Chad..." Taylor gasped. "Stop fucking teasing me."

Her panties discarded somewhere under one of the seats and her skirt bunched up around her waist; Chad had two fingers wriggling skilfully inside of her, and his tongue was dancing around her inner thigh.

"Well if you're not going to ask me nicely then why should I," Chad murmured.

"Cha-ad," Taylor whined.

"Ask nicely or I'll take my fingers out too."

"Please Chad..."

"Please what? What do you want?"

"I want you to... to lick me..."

"Show me where," Chad demanded, revelling in his position of power.

...

Things had surely changed.

Taylor's first real kiss had been with Chad at the triple win after party in the gym. She chose to repress her relationship with Timmy Marsters in sophomore year; and the pathetic excuses for kisses that they would exchange. Following the kiss with Chad had been a drawn out flirtation and a series of physical encounters. Without being aware of context, one could perceive that Taylor was exactly like one of the cheerleaders she was so wary of. She'd given Chad a handjob before they had been on an official date. But the context to be aware of was that over those eight months, a friendship was formed. A real friendship, a true friendship.

So the foundation of friendship and the physical relationship was already lain. Leaving the development of a whole new level. Surpassing friendship, beyond physicality. It was the nurturing side, the caring side, the romantic side.

Taylor was still basking in the aftershock, still seeing stars. Chad managed to manoeuvre himself within the confines of the backseat to now be straddling her, lovingly running his fingers through strands of her hair, tucking them behind her ears. Taylor pulled him down for a lingering kiss.

* * *

Wearing only a pair of low slung sweat pants, Troy was standing in front of the fridge, gazing forlornly at the empty shelves. Gabriella was standing just behind him, staring longingly at his shoulder muscles. She never thought she'd be the kind of girl to stare at a guy's back in adoration. Then again, Troy's pinky toe now had a certain element of sex appeal.

"She did this on purpose," he said ruefully. "Left no food so that we would HAVE to leave the privacy of the house."

"Troy..."

"It's rather genius actually. Here I was wondering why I didn't get a speech."

"Troy..."

"But this was the plan all along. Right when all I want to do is stay here with you all night."

"Troy!" Gabriella said, wrapping her hands around his waist from behind. He looked down. In her left hand was the telephone. "Does the pizza store still deliver?"

Troy's face broke into a smile, hands covering hers and taking the phone from her. "There's a reason why I chose to date a genius."

He didn't even have to ask what she wanted, just made the call and placed their order. He turned back to her, a disgruntled expression on his face.

"Up to an hour. How ridiculous is that?"

"It is a Saturday night," Gabriella pointed out.

"Whatever. Can you wait that long? Or do you want something little in the mean time? I'm sure I can find something." Troy was now standing in front of the cupboard, looking through the shelves. As he searched, he was scratching the back of his neck. "I could have sworn there were some museli bars in here."

Gabriella pulled him back from the cupboard to face her. "I'm fine Troy. A drink would be nice though." She reached into the cabinet, pulling down two glasses. "You want?"

"Yes, but put them down missy. You are my guest. Now, what would you like? I bought some diet coke since you're going through your little fad."

"Yes please," Gabriella requested.

"Excellent. Now sit down. You need to keep your energy up."

Gabriella smirked. "You have activities planned for the rest of the night, do you?"

"Maybe I do. You'll have to wait and see," he teased.

* * *

Sharpay was in her room sitting on her four poster bed which was laden with pink pillows, a pink comforter, and other random pink items all over. The soft sound of Sarah McLachlan was playing from the hi tech stereo in the corner. In front of her on the bed was the audition piece for the fall musical. The audition scenes for the character of Esmeralda were open. Although she hadn't voiced it publicly, she was really looking forward to the fall production and really had fallen in love with Kelsi's script. Despite that there was no outstanding lead character, Sharpay had quickly decided that Esmerelda was the part for her. With a funky pop song duet; a dramatic ballad and some awesome dance numbers - it was destined to have someone with her callibre of talent within the role. She was pleased to hear that Gabriella wasn't auditioning for that particular character.

A soft knock came at the door, and Ryan poked his head in.

"Hey. You disappeared after dinner," Ryan said.

"Am I not allowed to come to my room?" Sharpay said.

He exhaled, biting his tongue from commenting on the completely unnecessary tone. "Course you are. Do you want to read lines together?" Ryan motioned to the script on the bed.

A part of Sharpay wanted to refuse. The other part really wanted the role and knew that rehearsing lines together was a logical plan. "Okay," she agreed. "I didn't know you were even still gonna audition though. Thought with all your... assistant directoring... you didn't want to do the musical with me anymore."

The **with me** was the emphasis of the sentence.

"Course I still want to do musicals Shar. I just want to experience every side of them is all," Ryan said quietly. "Darbus said that as long as neither side suffers, she's fine with me working both behind the scenes and on stage."

"You're auditioning for Nate?"

Ryan nodded. "So if we both get our parts, we'll get a duet AND a big dance number together. Just like old times, hey?"

Sharpay gave him a wistful smile. "A million years ago it feels like."

He studied his sisters face. "Shar..." he began to say.

Sharpay held her hand up, silencing him. "Anyway. Are we reading lines or not?"

* * *

Hands brushed upon reaching for the same slice of pizza. Eyes lifted from the cardboard box, gazing longingly at one another. Suddenly hunger was no longer a priority. Well, hunger was still a priority. But it was a different hunger. Gabriella licked her lip slightly, Troy's intent stare making her feel slightly hot and prickly.

"Troy..."

The small gap between them on the couch was no longer in existence, Troy's lips were on hers and his hands were covering her breasts.

"We... should go... upstairs," Gabriella gasped between kisses.

Troy was in agreement - he didn't put it past his parents to have the next door neighbours peering through the cracks in the blinds. However the idea of going the entire time it would take to walk upstairs without his lips on Gabriella's was preposterous. And so he lifted her, bringing her legs around to straddle him. Somehow he managed to carry her upstairs, lips connected and eyes closed nearly the whole way - without stacking it.

She quickly discarded his track pants, revealing the already developing tent from its covering. He tugged his shirt off her, and trailed kisses down to her breasts, not hesitating at all. A gasp escaped from her lips as his hand ran up and underneath her skirt, fingers immediatly finding their way beneath the waistband of her panties; teasing but not entering her just yet. Lips crashed together once more, and Gabriella gently grasped his shaft.

"How do you expect me to concentrate with you doing that?"

"Men need to stand up to the accusation from women that they are incapable of multitasking," Gabriella murmured, trailing kisses along his jaw.

"You challenging me?"

Troy allowed his dancing, playing fingers to move further north, flicking at her clit. Gabriella was now gasping, increasing the speed of her pumping. He discontinued the strokes in favour of gently entering his middle and index fingers inside of her. She was writhing beneath his motions, desperate to reach her peak. She was beginning to get a sense of his reactions; recognising his ragged breaths and small grunts - and could feel just how engorged he had become within her grasp.

"Troy?" Gabriella gasped. "How... how far are you?"

"Not far," he managed to respond.

"Wait for me," she pleaded, gazing into his eyes.

He nodded, squeezing his eyes shut. "Then might I suggest you slow down."

Gabriella quickly dropped his length.

"I said slow down not stop!" Troy practically yelped.

* * *

Sharpay and Ryan took a short break from line reading.

"Man I love this script. Kelsi is a genius I swear," Ryan said.

"You even sound like them. Since when do you use the term 'man', Ry? And don't forget Gabriella being the genius. She did help write the script after all."

Ryan chose to ignore the malice in her comment. "This has been so much fun though. I miss this."

"Miss what?"

"You and me. Rehearsing together. Hanging together. I don't think we've sat in the same room alone for longer than five minutes in... in over a month."

"Well YOU'RE the one who is never around," Sharpay said haughtily.

"Sharpay, it's nothing personal against you," Ryan said, trying to reason with her.

"Well if feels personal, okay?"

It had been simmering over for a while. The underhanded comments, the tension. He kept letting it slide, kept pretending that it didn't hurt. But at some point - boiling point was going to be reached. It was inevitable.

"Why do you think I turned to them to begin with? YOU ditched ME for Troy over summer!"

"I LIKED him!" Sharpay exclaimed. "TOTALLY different situation."

"Oh please. You liked the **idea** of him. And because you couldn't have him he became a challenge. Just like how you asked Zeke to the dance. Because he stopped fawning all over you."

Sharpay couldn't believe the words that had just come out of her twins mouth. Ryan the push over, Ryan who she could direct and order around - had suddenly grown balls.

"Ry, if you miss us, then this isn't the way to go about repairing our presently totally fucked up sibling bond," Sharpay snapped. His words had hit her in a place she hadn't thought Ryan would be capable of hurting her.

Ryan took a deep breath, composing himself. "You're right. And... and I'm sorry."

The twins fell silent. Sharpay was staring at her comforter cover, clutching onto her chocolate brown teddy bear, combing its fur with her fingers.

"As long as I'm friends with them... it's just not gonna be the same, is it?" Ryan said quietly.

In a rare moment of pure honesty, with no mask, with no hint of superiority, no malicious intent - Sharpay spoke from the heart.

"I don't know," she said softly, looking into his eyes. "I can't help how I feel when you're with them. I know you say to not take it personally but... I just do."

She picked up her script. "I think I'm done with rehearsals for today. Thanks. You can go now."

"Shar..."

"You can go," she repeated, voice firm.

Ryan swallowed and nodded. "Okay. I understand."

* * *

"What do you think Troy and Gabriella are doing now?" Chad asked.

"Chad! I don't find the fact that you are thinking about our friends while my hand is doing what it's doing comforting."

Chad laughed. "Come on Tay, I'm not that sick. I was just curious is all."

"Hmm. Well. There will be no calling and interrupting. I think Gabriella might KILL YOU if you prevent her from..."

"Feeling toey is she?"

"Maybe," Taylor said.

It was interesting how the conversations that had been exchanged in confidence would flow out when being touched in a way that one's grandmother should never find out about.

* * *

Troy had increased the speed of his thrusting fingers, and once again deviated his lips south, latching onto her neck, and then suckling at her breasts. He had been so close to arrival and even with the slower movement of Gabriella's hand, he wasn't sure how much longer he could last. Finally, Gabriella felt the built of the climax hitting her; and instinctively moved to increase the intensity of her pumping fist as she approached the peak.

"I love you," Troy murmured breathily into her ear, and then crashed his lips to hers once again.

Any reservations in the back of Gabriella's mind as to whether taking this turn in their relationship had been the right way to go - were quashed at that moment. How could anything be wrong with expressing the love and devotion she felt for this boy in that moment in time? Three words was all it took for Gabriella to see stars. And the sight of his girlfriend panting, moaning, calling his name - was all it took to push Troy over the edge.

The couple collapsed together in simultaneous orgasmic bliss. Troy lazily reached for the tissue box, handing it to her. "Don't get up, you don't need to wash your hands. Stay with me," he murmured into her ear.

"Good because I don't wanna go anywhere," she replied softly, pressing her lips to his gently.

They remained lying together, basking in the simultaneous post orgasmic afterglow. Gabriella had turned onto her side facing away from him, allowing the natural curves of their bodies to mould together, nestling into his warmth. His hands were lazily stroking over her arms and tummy.

"Penny for your thoughts," Troy said softly, caressing her cheek.

"My thoughts are far too graphic to say out loud," Gabriella replied with a blush.

"We just made each other orgasm and you're worried about something being too graphic?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Don't you think this is weird? I mean… in two weeks we've taken a gigantic leap forward in our relationship. I… I don't find it easy to express myself when it comes to this stuff."

"Is it going too fast for you?" Troy asked with concern.

"I thought I banned that question," Gabriella said teasingly.

"You opened the door for it."

"No Troy. It feels right. So right you've got no idea how right."

"Then I think it's time to practice expressing ourselves when it comes to sex," Troy said bluntly. "So I ask again - penny for your thoughts?"

"You first…" Gabriella said, still feeling awkward.

Troy nodded. "Okay then. There's a billion floating around in here but the one I am picking to share is that I was thinking that next time, I would like to taste you."

Gabriella caught onto his meaning, her eyes widening in shock. "Oh… um… do you mean… after your hand has… or… or… with your… erm... tongue?"

"The latter," Troy said coyly. Seeing the look of shock on her face, he quickly added, "but only if you want me to."

Gabriella cleared her throat. "Uh. So for that… I imagine I'd have to be naked?"

"Well it might work better, yeah."

"We'll see," Gabriella responded non committedly.

"Okay then. Your turn," Troy insisted. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"Well what I am thinking now is different to what I WAS thinking when you first asked."

"Tell me both then."

Gabriella sighed. "Okay… when you first asked… I was thinking… I was thinking about… about what our first time will be like," she said softly. "And then I was thinking about… how big you are. And I was contemplating the logistics of how it will work because to me it's kind of a square peg round hole mismatch."

"You think I'm big?" Troy asked, a little cockily.

"Not that I have a reference point! Or that I pulled out a tape measure!"

Troy grinned. "Okay… and now you're thinking what?"

Gabriella cleared her throat. "That… I think I want what you were thinking about. Not now... But… but soon."

He smiled, pressing his lips to hers softly. "I'll hold you to that."

"Okay," Gabriella agreed, kissing him back.

"Maybe we shouldn't be having this conversation," Troy murmured, a hand running up Gabriella's side. "Not when I should be driving you home soon."

"Soon… not just yet."

* * *

Bright and early Sunday morning, Gabriella was awake and dressed and waiting impatiently for Troy's arrival. When she finally heard his truck pull up, all she wanted was to run out and go to his house immediately. However he came not only just to the front door but inside, making brief small talk with Elena. He was raving about the non fictional pancakes at this non existent cafe on the other side of town that he was supposedly taking Gabriella to for breakfast.

Once in the truck and driving, Troy remarked, "All this talk about food has made me hungry."

"What, you actually want to go out for breakfast now?" Gabriella queried.

"Hell no. There is cereal and bread in my cupboard. I have far better things to do with my time than sit around ordering and waiting and paying."

"Better uses?" Gabriella said slyly.

"Uh huh. You know, basketball, Playstation," Troy said casually. She thwacked his arm and he laughed. "Hey, no violence against the driver!"

"Well I didn't like your implication mister. I did not drag myself out of bed to come watch you make free throws and be beaten at some violent video game."

"Okay okay. I do believe there might be intentions for other activities with my beautiful, gorgeous, fabulous girlfriend who I love very much."

The moment Troy pulled into his driveway and turned off the ignition, his lips were attacked by Gabriella's. Needless to say, Troy forgot all about his hunger; plans for toast and cereal delayed in favour of more desirable activities.

* * *

Hours felt like minutes within each other arms, feeling one another's touch. Midday was approaching as they lay snuggled in Troy's bed.

"I wish it was summer again. And... summer and we'd never gotten jobs," Troy declared.

"Why?"

"So that we could just do this all day long, over and over and over. How on earth am I supposed to go to school on Monday and sit next to you in Economics and Physics and all the rest... and NOT be touching you?"

"Am I THAT irresistible?" Gabriella asked flirtatiously.

"Uh huh."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"You're pretty irresistible too," she whispered into his ear.

Their lips met in a slow luxurious kiss.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

"My parents will be home in less than an hour."

Gabriella sighed. "I have homework."

"Ssshh no homework talk."

"You're the one who brought up parents."

"You want to study together?"

"I actually need to study Troy," Gabriella said, amused. "And... right now given my inability to sit near you without touching you, perhaps studying together will NOT be the best plan."

"Why are you always right?" he said despondently. He sighed. "I really don't want this to end. I feel like we've been in our own little perfect cocoon of... of..."

"Orgasms?" Gabriella supplied.

"You used a word without stuttering!" Troy teased.

"Shut up," she said, blushing.

"It's sexy," he murmured, lips meeting lips.

"You're right though. Tomorrow will be hard."

"We could go into the janitors closet at lunch?" Troy suggested, the look of alarm on her face causing his hasty, "Just kidding!"

* * *

Things were going to be difficult on Monday. In an entirely different manner to that anticipated.

* * *

On Monday morning, Troy awoke to a loud ringing. He yawned and blinked. He glanced at his clock. It was 5:30am, so it wasn't his alarm. It took him a moment in his just woken up state to realise it was the household telephone ringing. Who calls that early? The ringing stopped. Troy rolled over to go back to sleep, his alarm not due to go off for another half hour.

Less than a minute later, there was a loud knocking at his door.

"Troy," Jack called. He opened the door.

"What?" Troy asked groggily.

"There's been a fire at the school."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** That felt like a cliffhanger for Home and Away or some soap series... last thing Friday night there always seems to be a cliffhanger about a natural disaster or a murder or someone cheating on someone; and it makes it sound more dramatic than it really is.

Anyway... just a quick thank you to one and all for all of your lovely comments and thoughts and reviews and PMs and what not. It seems a few new people have come onboard, so welcome! Be prepared to dedicate your ENTIRE LIFE to this story. That's how long this ride is going to be. (So it feels to me). And as per usual, I would love to hear your comments about this chapter... multiple plot arcs once again reappearing and all. So yes... review? -Dani xo


	18. Chapter 18

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies. Upon opening this document, you agree to waive any right to sue the author for any personal injury or death caused as a result of anticipation caused due to cliffhanger; or any other adverse reaction which comes from reading my work.

* * *

**Chapter 18**

On Monday morning, Troy awoke to a loud ringing. He yawned and blinked. He glanced at his clock. It was 5:30am, so it wasn't his alarm. It took him a moment in his just woken up state to realise it was the household telephone ringing. Who calls that early? The ringing stopped. Troy rolled over to go back to sleep, his alarm not due to go off for another half hour.

Less than a minute later, there was a loud knocking at his door.

"Troy," Jack called. He opened the door.

"What?" Troy asked groggily.

"There's been a fire at the school."

Troy sat up, suddenly feeling rather awake. "Where?"

Jack read his son's mind. _Dear God don't let it be the gym._

"The north sector mainly."

Troy breathed a sigh of relief. The gym was on the opposite side of school. "The auditorium?"

"That was the core of the damage. Official classes are cancelled today they just told me. They're going to broadcast it on the radio and local TV stations. I'm going in soon to check the damage."

"I wanna go see."

Jack hesitated. "You're not meant to. So I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that and I'll act surprised when I see you there."

Troy flicked on the television in his room to the morning local news. Sure enough there was the message across the bottom of the screen.

_'__Over night fire at East High. Significant structural damage. All classes cancelled today.'_

He picked up his phone and quickly called Gabriella.

"Sorry if I woke you," he apologised.

"It's okay… what's up?"

"Go turn the TV onto the local news station."

Gabriella obediently followed his direction. The station now had images of the fire as it was burning playing. She gasped.

"Oh my God. That's the auditorium."

"Yeah. They called my dad, he said it's all the north sector. Do you want to go and check it out?"

"All right."

Troy's next move was to call Chad to relay the news.

"I wanna go see. The school on fire, how awesome!"

"Chad, I don't think it's still burning," Troy said, rolled his eyes.

"Whatever man. I'll see you there, yeah?"

* * *

When Troy pulled up at Gabriella's house, he'd barely stepped out of his truck before the front door flew open and a frazzled Gabriella appeared. She had been waiting in the hallway and came out the moment she heard him pull up.

It wasn't exactly how either of them would have imagined their first meeting after the weekend they'd had. They met in a brief but passionate embrace.

"Come on," she said, taking his hand and squeezing it.

* * *

Troy drove right into the staff parking area that was just beyond the auditorium. Well, what was now the remains of the auditorium. The whole damaged area was taped off, including half the carpark. There were other people standing around, observing the damage; including faculty, police, the fire squad and other general sticky beaks. Less than a minute after had pulled up, Chad pulled into the spare park beside him - Taylor of course with him.

"Holy fuck," Chad breathed as he stepped out of the car, observing the scene.

The foursome left the cars and moved closer; huddled together with the girls leaning into their boyfriends, to observe the damage. The auditorium was practically gone. It was hard to believe that the big building had ever been there. The immediate part of the school building which stood next to the auditorium was clearly also affected, but the extent of the damage wasn't evident from the outside. The group remained frozen in silence, just staring in bewilderment. Only upon hearing a loud screeching of tyres in the carpark did they move, looking back to observe.

Sharpay and Ryan came bolting out of Sharpay's pink convertible. Obviously they'd left home in a hurry just like the others. It was the first time in recent years that anyone outside the Evans family had seen Sharpay wearing track pants and void of makeup.

"Oh my God," Ryan breathed, staring at the destroyed building.

"No," Sharpay whispered. "No!" she shrieked, and went running towards the damaged building.

"Shar!" Ryan shouted after her.

She ran past the huddled group of four, and Troy grabbed a hold of her arm.

"Sharpay it's not safe in there," he said, yanking her back.

"Like you give a flying fuck about my safety," Sharpay spat, and with a surprising surge of strength, pulled herself out of his grasp.

It took both Chad and Troy to pull her back from trying to enter the taped off area. She succumbed, letting them pull her back, and sank to her knees. It was no acting job. Sharpay was curled into a tight ball, rocking backwards and forwards, sobbing. There was nothing they could do but watch as the ice princess finally melted.

* * *

It had been a half hour since Sharpay had collapsed to the ground; a half hour of Ryan prodding her and suggesting they leave. But she refused to move; she couldn't bear to tear her eyes away from the destroyed building.

"Come on Shar, there's nothing we can do here," Ryan pleaded.

"I'm not moving," she whispered resolutely.

Gabriella was the first to sit down, dropping Troy's hand and sitting cross legged next to Sharpay.

"That's okay. They haven't asked us to leave. As long as we stay back here behind the tape it's fine."

Ryan gave Gabriella a grateful smile as the group all joined in, sitting on the grass. There was a good fifteen minutes of sitting in relative silence. Other interested students were coming and going, murmured greetings taking place with some. The area was being treated as a crime scene - given that it was unknown whether it was arson or accident. A fire team was still securing and investigating the area; every so often a member of the team would emerge. Sharpay would sit up straighter each and every time, staring intently.

"Ryan?" she asked quietly. "Do you think they saved anything? Any... any of our things?"

"I don't know Shar. It uh... it looks pretty bad," Ryan said, not wanting to upset her but not wanting to lie.

"Oh."

A loud screech sounded from the car park. They looked up to see the arrival of Miss Darbus. A woman known for her dramatic entrances - however on this occasion, there was not a hint of pseudo drama. The emotion was real. She was standing just outside her car, clutching to the bonnet as she stared at the destroyed area with a look of pure horror upon her face.

"Oh my," she gasped, slowing stepping towards the building.

Sharpay slowly stood to her feet, approaching the older woman. For three years, Miss Darbus had been her mentor; brought together by a common love for the stage. Miss Darbus saw the approaching girl, seeing a mirrored distress in her face. Sharpay collapsed into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Miss Darbus stoked Sharpay's hair, murmuring into her ear.

"The theatre isn't a building. It is in our hearts. In our love of singing, of acting, of dancing, of performing."

Gabriella was clinging to Troy's hand; unable to tear her eyes away from the embracing pair.

"Hi Coach," Chad said quietly.

Troy and Gabriella looked up to see Jack Bolton approaching from the other direction. He squeezed his son's shoulder in greeting.

"The faculty are having a meeting as soon as possible, we're just waiting on a few staff members. It will probably start within a half hour. They would like you two to attend," he said, gesturing toward Ryan and Gabriella.

"Gee, and here we were thinking this was all about pep rallies and bake sales," Ryan said. He glanced at his watch. "Hardly worth going home and then coming back."

"What about Sharpay?" Gabriella asked quietly. "She can't drive home, not like this."

Ryan shook his head. "No. I want her to get home though... she shouldn't be here. There's nothing to do here anyway."

"We can take her," Chad said quietly.

Troy nodded in agreement. "You'd just have to convince her to come with us."

"Good as done."

Troy turned to his dad. "So practice is cancelled this afternoon?"

Jack exhaled. "Well officially I'm not allowed to run it on school property when school isn't running without getting official permission. Something tells me Principal Matsui has more important matters to attend to."

"But I could unofficially call the boys and get them to come to the park?" Troy suggested.

"Proactivity. Good work. I'll call you later and see what you've organised," Jack said.

He then approached Darbus and Sharpay, gently clasping the older womans arm. "Matsui needs us."

Ryan took Sharpay by the arm. "Shar, wanna go home now?"

Miss Darbus nodded. "You should go home dear. Noting to be done here."

Sharpay nodded. "Okay."

"I uh... I have a meeting here Shar. But... but one of the guys can take you okay? And then I'll take your keys and drive your car home later."

She didn't have the energy to argue, just handed him the keys in silence.

"We should go," Ryan said quietly to Gabriella.

She nodded, and turned to Troy.

"Call me later, okay?" he murmured, pressing his lips to hers for a lingering kiss.

* * *

The following morning, the core group of Wildcats were gradually gathering out the front of the school as per usual. There was one topic on the minds of everyone. Zeke and Jason were discussing the events animatedly.

"I heard that it was arson, some ex students with a vendetta," Jason remarked.

"It's pretty cool I think, we get some excitement in the week," Zeke added.

"It is NOT cool at all," Kelsi's indignant voice said, approaching them from behind.

"Kelsi, are you okay?" Gabriella said immediately.

"No I'm not. I'm annoyed. In the two minutes walking from where my mom dropped me off to here, I've heard about eight people talking excitedly about how cool it is that the school was set on fire. I don't particularly think it's cool at all."

"Was the whole music wing destroyed?" Taylor asked gently.

"More or less. All the equipment anyway, which we were so lucky to have and there is no way that they will be able to replace it all any time soon."

"I didn't mean it to be rude," Zeke said quietly.

Kelsi sighed. "I know." She turned to Gabriella. "Did they talk about the musical at the meeting yesterday?"

Gabriella nodded. "No decision was made though. Ryan and I gave them a whole list of alternative locations and plans but Matsui just said they would take it under advisement."

"Should we go in?" Troy suggested.

The group moved in the building, heading towards homeroom, to find a note taped to the classroom door. It requested that students go straight to the gymnasium for a senior school assembly. Sharpay and Ryan were just leaving the room, having seeing the note. Ryan gave his friends a small smile and a wave. Sharpay was clearly upset - her plain jeans, t-shirt and pony tail evidence enough without even seeing the look of distress on her face.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Gabriella asked her softly.

"Fabulous," she said sarcastically. "Ryan, let's go."

"Umm... just one second okay?" he said tentatively. He ignored the look of impatience on his sister's face and turned to Gabriella. "We talked to my dad."

"And?"

"Doesn't look good."

"Oh."

"Ryan!" Sharpay snapped.

Ryan mouthed _sorry_ to Gabriella and said cheerfully, "Okay see you guys in class and what not."

"So he's gonna start following her around again? Just like that?" Taylor said quietly.

"He's just worried about her is all. I don't blame him. You saw her yesterday," Gabriella said.

"Could have been an act," Taylor remarked.

"I don't think it was," Troy said. "Seemed rather genuine to me."

"Let's go to the gym. I want to get this over and done with," Kelsi said grimly.

"You think they'll cancel the musical?" Gabriella said quietly.

"I just... have a feeling it's not gonna go well. It seemed too good to be true that I would get another one of my compositions selected and that everything would run smoothly."

They silently headed towards the gymnasium. Upon entry, they observed the immediate change to the building. There were partitions throughout the gym, tables and chairs and whiteboards on wheels filling in what appeared to be a series of temporary classrooms. Evidently, each year level was having periodic assemblies throughout the day - the whole school assemblies would normally be in the auditorium. The senior class and teachers who weren't teaching the other grades at the time squished into the bleachers.

Principal Matsui began the assembly the moment the bell rang for class, outlining the fire and explaining the health and safety procedures in place - to avoid the taped off area, to cooperate with the fire team who were still about the area investigating the cause of the fire.

"There are quite a few classes that are affected by this. Not only were the two music rooms near the auditorium damaged, but also the general studies wing adjacent to the auditorium which houses primarily mathematics based classes was more or less completely destroyed and will need to be completely rebuilt, and the LOTE area needs some repairs and will be out of bounds for at least a week. The plan is to bring in some demountable buildings, but due to various restrictions, these aren't available until next week at the earliest. In the meantime, there are a whole series of relocations. We don't have a lot of room at East High so there are quite a few classes that will be taking place here in the gymnasium, as you can see we have temporary partitions being put up and chairs and tables brought in."

They began the painful process of reading out each and every relocation; after which Coach Bolton stood up to take over the microphone.

"The result of those relocations is that a lot of physical education classes and extra curricular activities have also been affected, and need relocations. If your physical education class normally meets in the gymnasium, you are to meet your teacher at their staffroom. Your class will then be relocated to the oval, or an outdoor court."

A hand went up.

"Yes Jason?"

"What if it rains?" he asked.

Coach Bolton glanced at the other staff. "We will play it by ear."

"And extra curricular sporting activities?" Chad asked pointedly.

Coach Bolton cleared his throat. "The coaches of all relevant sports affected by the changes to the availability of the gymnasium have called team meetings to be held throughout today and tomorrow." He proceeded to list the times that had been designated - the Varsity basketball team to meet that lunch hour. "Most practices will be relocated to outdoor locations."

The boys of the basketball team all groaned. There was a major difference between practicing in the elements on the bitumen outdoor court; than in real indoor conditions.

"You'll find out more at your individual meetings with your team coaches."

Miss Darbus took the microphone next.

"Now to the auditorium. The drama classes which are held in the auditorium and not in a classroom have already had their relocations announced. Emergency staff meetings were held throughout yesterday to organise all of the logistics which have been detailed to you all, and to discuss the impact upon various extra curricular activities."

She paused and took a deep breath, clearly troubled by what she was to announce next.

"Despite avid opposition from representatives of the student council and drama club, the faculty made the decision that the fall musicale is effectively cancelled, next Monday's scheduled auditions are no longer going ahead."

Murmurs came from the student body, small outcries of "What?!" and "No!" sounding.

Sharpay rose to her feet. "You can't just CANCEL the musical!" she exclaimed indignantly.

Her thread of hope that they would still be able to find a way to go through with the production was coming to a crashing halt.

Principal Matsui took the microphone. "Miss Evans..."

Troy was not in the least bit impressed, and he was willing to say so. He stood up and declared vehemently, "Sharpay is right. That's bullshit."

People were shocked that Troy would curse in front of the faculty members. The outcry was almost as loud as the response to the original announcement of the cancellation of the show. Sharpay looked sharply at Troy, surprised that he was the one to back her up.

"Mr Bolton…" Principal Matsui began to say.

"Sorry for the language but it is," Troy said. "All this effort is being made to accommodate every other part of the school affected. And to just cancel the show? Is the school saying that the drama club isn't as important as the volleyball team, or the basketball team?"

"In case you didn't notice Mr Bolton, the location in which the show would have taken place was completely destroyed. Unless you plan to personally rebuild the auditorium in time for the show..."

"What, is that the only auditorium in Albuquerque?" Chad contributed.

"Why can't you hire somewhere? Heck, I'll go over to West High and personally ask if we can borrow their auditorium!" Troy said.

Principal Matsui sighed. "This matter isn't up for discussion. The decision is final. There are many, many reasons which go into budgets and funds and resources that you would not be able to comprehend. And Mr Bolton? I'll see you after final period for detention."

Troy stared at Principal Matsui in disbelief, but nevertheless took his seat, folding his arms across his chest. Gabriella squeezed his shoulder.

* * *

Chad, Jason, Zeke, Troy, Gabriella, Kelsi and Martha were gathered in the quad during their free period just before lunch time.

"This school is fucked," Troy grumbled. "Seriously fucked. Fucking Matsui giving me a fucking detention. The fucking fucker."

"You've been on about it all day. Get over it. You've had plenty of detentions before," Chad said, sounding somewhat bored with Troy's complaining.

"It was very nice of you to stand up for the show though," Kelsi said quietly. "You were rather vocal for someone who hadn't even committed himself to auditioning."

"Kels, if the show is off, you can stop harassing me about it," Troy commented sourly.

"Hey guys," Taylor said, plopping down next to them.

"Are you ditching class?" Chad asked incredulously. "I know you were upset about having different free period times to us but I didn't think you were that upset."

"Me? Ditch class? No, we didn't have a classroom for our lesson. They put us in the library common area but there were like four classes in there and Miss Humphries just gave up and told us to take a free period."

"Nice. Why couldn't that have happened to any of my classes," Jason lamented.

Ryan and Sharpay were headed across the quad, Ryan heading straight for the group, Sharpay trailing behind, looking annoyed to be around them.

"I just talked to Matsui. It's for real," Ryan said with a sigh.

"At least you tried," Gabriella said consolingly.

"I know that you like to pretend you aren't rich but why don't you just ask your dad if he can sponsor the school to rent a hall or something?" Kelsi suggested.

"We tried that. Sharpay and I were arguing with him for like an hour last night. Didn't help that Sharpay went on a three thousand dollar spending spree last week and he was angry about her credit card being maxed out," Ryan remarked.

"I am right here Ryan, don't pretend I can't hear you," Sharpay snapped.

Ryan closed his eyes for a moment, maintaining his sanity. The last couple of months of not being in Sharpay's shadow twenty four seven had obviously left him unaccustomed to putting up with her ways.

"Anyway, he gave this whole bullshit response about the company budget for 'charity' being maxed out; and that for him personally it doesn't fit in with his taxes. I researched how much it would cost, I don't think even fundraising is within our reach," Ryan commented.

"And so the whole thing is just fucked up, we won't even have on our applications for Julliard that we were in a fall production. Fan-fucking-tastic," Sharpay said. "Let's move on."

"It'll be okay," Troy said, trying to console his… well she wasn't really his friend. His acquaintance was more appropriate.

"How would you feel if your precious gymnasium had been burnt to the ground. Where all of your little memories are?"

Troy was silent for a moment and then replied, "I would be upset but I think I would try to keep positive by realising that there is more to life than basketball."

"More to life?" Sharpay echoed. "You just don't get it. I'm not like you people. This isn't my back up. I don't have this whole world of basketball games and pep rallies, or even Bunsen burners and chemicals and equations. I don't go to parties, I don't have a boyfriend, I don't just pick up a microphone and belt out a tune when I feel like it. Instead I take voice lessons and dance classes and I practice walking with a book on my head and I've even learnt to play the fucking piano. This is my life! My world revolves around the drama club and the school productions, full stop. So don't tell me that it will be okay because it's not okay!"

Sharpay huffed away, Troy looking positively flabbergasted.

"Who knew she had feelings," Taylor said under her breath.

Ryan gave Taylor a withering look. "Of course she has feelings. You think she's just a bitch for the hell of it?"

"Well… yeah."

Ryan shook his head. "For a bright girl, you can be really closed minded sometimes Taylor."

And with that, he turned on his heels in search of his sister.

It was now Taylor's turn to look like she'd been slapped in the face. "Well," she said, trying to remain composed.

"He's just upset babe, worried about Sharpay," Chad said consolingly, kissing her on the cheek.

"Whatever," Taylor said, but clearly she was hurt. "I'm going back to the library."

"You want me to come with you?" Chad asked.

She shook her head. "I'm going to read. I'll see you later."

Chad exhaled noisily, watching after her. "If I find whoever was responsible for this, man they'll get fucked up. Causing drama left right and centre."

"And there's still our meeting to come," Troy pointed out, sounding depressed. "Our whole season is probably gonna get fucked around because of this."

Gabriella rubbed her boyfriend's back comfortingly. "All you can do is wait and see."

* * *

Gabriella spent the first five minutes of her lunch period hunting down Taylor. She found her in the cafeteria. There was a notable absence of people within their crowd. Chad, Jason, Troy and Zeke were at the varsity basketball emergency meeting. The cheerleaders were also meeting to discuss their rearranged practice schedule. Ryan and Kelsi were meeting with Miss Darbus. Martha was at the library. Which left Gabriella and Taylor, which Gabriella was perfectly happy about.

"Taylor... what happened with you and Ryan before?" she asked gently, sliding into the table beside her friend.

"It was nothing," Taylor said quietly.

"It was not nothing. You were really hurt, weren't you?"

"Must be my time of the month coming up because it's not a big deal."

Gabriella pursed her lips, sensing Taylor's stubbornness and deciding to drop it for now.

"Do you want to go eavesdrop on the boys meeting?" Taylor asked suddenly.

It was clearly a diversionary tactic, but a welcome one because Gabriella had thought of the same idea earlier.

"Yes," she said immediately.

Both of the girls had bought sandwiches and fruit with them for lunch, so they were able to bypass the cafeteria queue and head straight toward the gym. On the way they passed Sharpay's locker - with Sharpay looking somewhat lost in front of it.

"We should talk to her," Gabriella said to Taylor, motioning towards Sharpay.

Taylor sighed. "Sometimes I think you have too much of a heart, Gabriella Montez."

"Look at her! She looks like she's about to burst into tears. She shouldn't be alone."

"You're doing the talking."

"Sharpay?" Gabriella said tentatively.

"Hmm?"

"Taylor and I were going to go and spy on the boys basketball meeting. You uh... you want to come with?"

"I guess," Sharpay said. "Nothing better to do."

Even in her fragile state, Sharpay managed to exude her bitchy side.

* * *

Jack Bolton hadn't even had the chance to begin outlining the plan of attack when the boys already began to outline the problems he had already mentally identified.

"Coach, how are we supposed to prepare properly outside? The weather has been crazy lately," Zeke asked.

"Yeah! Our first game is next Friday!" Jason added.

"Believe me, you're preaching to the choir here boys. I wasn't impressed, but at the same time, I do understand that the school can't just cancel all of its maths classes. The bigger problem, in my opinion, is that not only will we be forced to relocate outside but it is actually to do with when our practices fall."

"Huh?" one of the juniors asked.

"As you know, we align the senior and junior year physical education classes so that during season, you have one of your practical lessons for training. Your physical education classes happen to fall during the freshman compulsory physical education class. This is also when most of sophomore year have free period. During that free period is when most of the JV basketball squad, as well as the JV volleyball team, have an extra practice. The freshman education class is currently covering tennis principles."

"So you're saying that the outdoor court, which is also used as an outdoor tennis court and volleyball court, is needed by four groups at once?" Zeke said slowly.

Coach Bolton nodded. "We're still in negotiations. I suggested that the JV basketball squad and you guys mix it up and we play, but then the other teams have no where to use."

"And let me guess, there are problems with our free period work out as well? And lunchtime?" Troy said, sensing where this was going,

"Yes. Similar problems, clashes of timetables. It's just the wrong time of year really - the physical education classes are doing lots of team sports at the moment. As it was we were pushed for space. You guys would know that we've shared the gym with another team a lot, using one end of the court each. After you guys won last year, there has been increased spirit from teams to want to practice more. So we've got boys and girls basketball teams for both varsity and junior, and then add in the volleyball and tennis teams…"

"I've got it!" a female voice said from just outside the gym.

"Sssshhh!" other female voices hushed her.

"Whoever is out there, why don't you just come in and join us," Coach Bolton said wryly. He had already seen Gabriella poke her head around to corner to listen at one point.

Gabriella, Taylor and Sharpay sheepishly came around the corner.

"We're sorry for eavesdropping," Gabriella began to say.

"No we're not because if we weren't then I wouldn't have come up with my brilliant solution to your problem," Sharpay said.

Suddenly Sharpay had a spark about her. Sharpay was someone who needed to feel in control. Whether it be in control of her own life or someone elses. The spark of an idea that could help the basketball team was enough to bring her to life.

"We're listening," Coach Bolton said skeptically.

"Why don't you hold some of your practices over at the Redhawks gym at the University of Albuquerque?" she suggested.

"Sharpay, that's an interesting thought but the hire cost over there is phenomenal. I already researched it."

"Well my original thought was that I could get my daddy to organise it all for you but ummm I sort of had an argument with him so he probably won't be doing me any favours. So…" her gaze went over to Troy.

"Woah Sharpay, you actually think that I could rock up there and just demand usage of their gym?"

"I'm not suggesting you take it over. But maybe once after school, and aren't two of your PE lessons right after lunch? You could drive over and have time to practice and be back. You're not going to get to use this gym for weeks."

"Weeks? They said the demountables would be here next week," Gabriella pointed out.

Chad shook his head. "Do you guys remember in sophomore year when the science area was flooded and they had to do repairs? The demountables they promised never even came."

"Yeah and it was like two months before they repaired the damage too," Jason added.

"You're supporting this suggestion?" Troy looked at his team mates. "Over summer, you all got majorly pissed at me because I was talking to the Redhawks, and now you want me to take advantage of that link?"

"This is for the team Troy, that's the difference," Gabriella said softly.

Their eyes met, experiencing flashbacks to their conversation at the end of summer.

Troy sighed. "This isn't about me joining in with them while they casually practice, we're talking about taking over their gym."

"Are you still in contact with them?" Chad asked.

Troy's eyes shifted around the room, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "Not really... a bit. Last time was when I had a chat with Owen after our tryouts. Not on the level we're talking about here. I seriously don't think I have that kind of weight over there."

Sharpay spoke up once again. "You kinda do actually. Both with the team and to be frank my dad thinks your the greatest thing since Prada tote bags. HOW on earth he got that idea is BEYOND me," she said haughtily, even though she and half the people in the room knew very well it was her own doing over summer. "Daddy would so back you up if you couldn't organise it directly through the team, and the people from the university would listen to you too. The board of directors had this dinner at my house, I was meant to be upstairs but you know me, I was loitering around outside. They were organising their college scouting - they have pencilled in a whole heap of East High activities this year. And it's not just about Troy, they're not just getting him to come play with them sometimes. They're talking about coming to like every single basketball game this season. And baseball. And track and field events. And golf tournaments. And scholastic decathlons. They love this school, especially this team. But... I think it's up to you Troy to make it happen."

"Let's say Troy can swing this… that doesn't solve all our problems. I mean, we practice nearly every day," Jason said. "All our practices are affected."

"We just have to change our training style," Troy said. He'd already given the situation a lot of thought, having predicted that something like this was going to happen. "When we don't have access to a court, we work on endurance. Do laps. Drills. Most of us have a hoop in our driveway or backyard, if it means we play more two on two then that's what we do."

"So you're gonna talk to them?" Zeke asked.

Troy sighed. "You guys not gonna get shitty again?"

"Probably not," Chad said with a grin. "So how you gonna ask this favour?"

"Oh oh me again. I know all about getting people to do what you want them to do," Sharpay said, a gleam in her eye.

"She means, controlling them," Chad said under his breath.

Sharpay ignored him. ""Keep it very casual," she advised Troy. "They have a game tomorrow night which I might add that daddy is going to. Go and watch - take a few of the boys with you, but not all of them. Wear human being clothes, not these smelly Wildcat uniforms. Go up to them after the game, congratulate them, make small talk. They'll ask how your season is going. You say well, but practice has been a bit dodgy lately. And then tell them the story - but you're not ASKING them for anything. You're putting into their head that it would be a good idea for them to offer it to you."

"Sounds like you don't even need me here. You have it all sorted yourselves," Coach Bolton observed, a smile toying on his lips.

"Nah, without you we don't have anyone yelling at us to move our asses," Chad grinned.

"I could do that," Taylor volunteered.

It was settled. Troy, Zeke, Jason and Chad were going to the Redhawks game the following evening. No pressure on Troy or anything.

"Guys, this might not work. Which will be totally cool. We should be able to get Matsui to let us come in here on Sunday, and we can move all the desks and have a real practice. And there's plenty of other options," Troy said, trying to deemphasise the importance of Sharpay's idea working.

"But if you can work this out, we will be a heap more prepared, right?" one of the new kids said.

Troy exhaled. "We will be prepared in a DIFFERENT way. Not better or worse."

Ultimately, Troy knew that he was blowing smoke and so did the team. The quality of their preparation could very well depend upon his powers of persuasion the following evening.

* * *

Final period Tuesday was economics class, which Troy and Gabriella had together. She rushed in late from her previous lesson, so they barely had time to say hello before the teacher launched into the coursework. With the missing lesson from Monday, there was little breathing time, the lesson being completely jam packed with information. The final bell signalled, and Troy exhaled.

"Fucking Matsui and fucking detention," he grumbled.

Gabriella smiled. "You did a noble thing standing up for the drama club. I know they all appreciate it."

"Yeah," Troy said dejectedly. "Oh! Go meet Chad at his locker. He's going to take you home."

She smiled. "Aren't you well organised, planning my transportation for me?"

"Yeah, that's me, mister organisation," Troy chuckled. "Anyway I don't wanna be late. Call me later?"

Gabriella nodded, and a short kiss goodbye later and he was gone.

* * *

Troy emerged from his detention a half hour later. It hadn't been too taxing - being left to study for a half hour. If anything it was one of the more productive half hours of study time he had ever had. When he was approaching the parking lot, he spotted a familiar brunette sitting on the bonnet of his truck.

"What are you doing here missy?" Troy demanded, although he was very pleased to see her. "Did Danforth give you the flick?"

"No. And if that was why I was here, I am perfectly capable of walking," Gabriella pointed out. "I wanted to see you."

"Oh really?"

"Uh huh. I just had the most amazingly wonderful weekend with my absolutely stunning boyfriend; and even with the craziness of the past couple of days it seems ridiculous that we haven't even kissed properly in over 48 hours."

"Amazingly wonderful weekend huh? Anything special happen with this guy?" Troy asked, casually walking past her and unlocking his truck to sling his bag inside.

A smile toyed on Gabriella's lips. "Special? Hardly," she scoffed.

"Well then, I guess it won't be a big deal if this guy withdrew any offer for any sort of repeat activity again," Troy said casually.

"Like he would," she said with a giggle, as Troy's hands caught her by the waist.

"You're right about the ridiculousness of the lack of kissing. Something that should be rectified."

Troy leaned down, lips capturing lips, lingering, tongues probing, hands clawing.

"Umm... school property..." Gabriella gasped.

"Right. An issue," Troy murmured. "What time will your mom be home?"

She glanced at her watch. "How efficient can we be?"

"You like to keep challenging me, huh?"

"Yup, I know you like a challenge."

"You know me so well."

"Why are we wasting time standing here talking about it?"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Okay. So given the dramatic cliffhanger last chapter I recognise some of you might be puzzled about where I am going here. I didn't throw in the fire because someone was going to die in the fire; or because it turns out that Chad has a brain tumour and in his delusional state he went and lit the fire out of some vendetta against Darbus for confiscating his cell phone; or because there was a baby caught under the debris and Troy was going to run in wearing a firemans uniform and rescue it (although that provides some nice mental imagery).

Rather the fire is a mechanism to a) cause turmoil within the upcoming basketball season b) to cause turmoil to the musical c) to poke at Sharpay's buttons and subsequently poke at Ryan's buttons d) to continue to explore some of the issues of summer i.e. with the Redhawks - and then a whole lot of other sideline relationship conflicts going on from it - i.e. Taylor and Ryan's tiff. So it might seem like a let down if you were expecting some type of ridiculous soap opera drama - but if you were really expecting that then you obviously haven't been paying attention to my writing style because that's so not what I do.

Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? Feedback? Would you like the next chaper to open with the sound of a miracle baby within the debris, and for Troy to appear all gallant and brave with a crowbar? Or are you content with where I'm going? Review? -Dani xo


	19. Chapter 19

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies. Upon opening this document, you agree to waive any right to sue the author for any personal injury or death caused as a result of anticipation caused due to cliffhanger; or any other adverse reaction which comes from reading my work.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I just hurriedly typed out the first scene here because... I am insane. Forgive me now.

* * *

**Chapter 19**

_Troy arrived at school early the following day. Something was calling to him; a beacon of sorts. He needed to be there. There was a reason for his arriving early at East High. He wandered past the taped off auditorium area, and as the wind blew gently, the leaves of nearby trees rustling, he heard it. It was faint, but he heard it. Crying. Sobbing. Wailing. Ignoring the tape he walked straight into the out of bounds area, straight into the debris. He knew exactly where to go. Troy opened his satchel where he had conveniently brought along a crow bar with him that day. The crying was coming from beneath some steel wreckage. Using the crowbar and all of his strength, Troy pried apart the steel, in a superhuman feat. He reached in, and clasped his hands around the perfectly healthy baby girl. A crowd erupted into cheers behind him. He turned around, smiling broadly. He then fished inside of his bag, emerging with a bottle of baby's formula. No one need to know why he had it with him. The mother of the baby ran forward, throwing her arms around Troy in a grateful hug, and Troy handed over the now sleeping child. A pair of arms wrapped around his waist._

_"Gabriella!" he gasped. "How did you get here?"_

_"I saw you driving past my house ridiculously fast and so I ran here as fast as I could. I arrived just in time. Oh, Troy, you are so brave. You and only you could have done that."_

_Troy smiled bashfully. "It was nothing. It was a good thing I brought the crowbar today."_

_"The crowbar was hot. I think you should bring it every day," Gabriella said coyly._

_"Every day?" Troy asked._

_Beads of sweat were pooling upon Gabriella's forehead. "Every. Day. Oh Troy, my stud muffin, take me now!"_

_And with that, she lunged at him. Just as Gabriella's hand was slipping inside of his jeans, the sounds of Dance Dance by Fallout Boy were playing in the background loudly._

_"This isn't very romantic Troy," Gabriella murmured._

And he opened his eyes. Troy was in his bedroom. No gorgeous girl with her hand around his mister. No crowbar. Just his cell phone with its morning wake up alarm.

"That was fucking weird," Troy groaned.

* * *

The Wildcat crew arrived at school without any dramas; no beacons calling anyone toward the wreckage of the auditorium. As the group headed into the school building, Gabriella dragged Taylor with her to her locker before they went into homeroom with everyone.

"Taylor, I'm a bad person," Gabriella said urgently.

"You are?" Taylor asked, somewhat dubiously.

Gabriella nodded. "The school is in chaos, the boys season is looking rather grim, Kelsi and Ryan are upset about the cancellation of the fall musical and... I just can't seem to stop smiling."

Taylor grinned. Gabriella was practically glowing, a fact evident to everyone. "You do look rather like you slept with a coat hanger in your mouth. You're in love. You're allowed to be happy. You should be happy. All this other stuff, it doesn't matter."

"I'm not just in love, I'm madly crazily scarily in love."

"Lustfully in love?"

Gabriella giggled, blushing. "Uh huh."

She had called Taylor on Sunday night, filling her in on the details of the weekend's events.

"Troy seems pretty happy too, despite the issues with their training schedule."

"I hope he is..." Gabriella said wistfully.

"He's a boy. It doesn't take much to please them."

Gabriella grabbed a textbook and slammed her locker shut. "How's things with Chad?"

Taylor smiled, blushing. "Good. Really good. To be honest I didn't know if it was going to work but I think it is."

"We all knew it would work. It's one of those crazy matches which seems ridiculous but is just so ridiculous that it's perfect."

The girls chatted all the way through to homeroom, arriving and seeing their whole back corner already present.

"Hey Taylor," Ryan said, a little uncertainly. "Umm... about yesterday..."

Taylor held up her hand, silencing him. "Don't."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Not the healthiest way to deal with issues."

"Well maybe I'm just closed minded to the correct ways of doing things," she snapped, sitting down and pulling out a book.

Ryan exhaled. "Fine." He turned to Martha, initiating a conversation.

* * *

After homeroom, Troy, Gabriella and Taylor all headed towards the gymnasium where Troy's trig class and the girls calculus class had been relocated. Taylor was in a funk, walking in silence. Which worked out fine because Troy and Gabriella were walking hand in hand, talking softly about plans for the upcoming weekend.

"It's all gonna depend on how things go tonight," Troy said quietly. "But... there will definitely be Gabriella time this weekend. Definitely most absolutely. Even if we just catch a movie or something. I mean... we don't have to..."

"But I want to," Gabriella said, smiling slightly.

They went their separate ways into the pseudo classrooms. The partitions were rather impractical felt boards designed for putting up posters with thumbtacks. Which meant they were useless for blocking out sound. The teachers in the areas next to one another wound up having to take turns explaining information to their class, and then giving the class time to work on a problem. Meaning that while Troy was trying to complete a trig problem, in the area next door he could hear the teacher droning about derivatives and linearisation, which left him more confused.

But there was a perk. He was sitting right where there was a gap between two dividers. Providing him with a clear line of sight into the next partition. To where Gabriella in her almost too short for school (and possibly too brisk for fall) denim skirt was sitting cross legged, chewing on a pen. His concentration was already wavering without realising his view. Now, there was no hope.

"Mr Bolton? The unit circle?"

Troy looked up at the teacher who was looking at him expectantly. "Err... pardon?" he said weakly.

"The unit circle, what is the equation?"

Troy coughed, filtering through his notes. "Ahh... that would be..."

Meanwhile in the next door partition, Gabriella's attention had been perfectly placed forward at the teacher until she heard Troy's name said next door. She was mentally sending him the answer, _Pythagoras theorem, x squared plus y squared equals 1._

"I'm sorry I don't know," Troy said weakly.

"Perhaps if you were concentrating rather than daydreaming you might understand. Pay attention or you might find yourself in detention - again."

Troy inwardly groaned, cursing the fire. He heard the distinctive sound of Gabriella giggling next door. He glanced through the crack, catching her eye line, and winked.

* * *

The Redhawks were on fire that night, going straight into the lead from the first quarter and only increasing the lead as the game went on. Chad nudged Troy as the final siren went off, and Troy jumped up, heading down to the barrier just above the players bench. Troy felt a little strange, he'd trained with the guys once since the talent show, but since their season began hadn't remained in regular contact.

"Hey guys, awesome game!" Troy called out.

Luckily Owen, one of the guys who Troy had been familiar with, looked up and grinned seeing him.

"Bolton, sup, thanks man. Come round inside yeah?" Owen saw Troy glance at his friends who were hovering just behind him. "You can bring your buddies too."

Troy led his three friends around to the back entrance to the locker room, where Owen was waiting to give them clearance to come through.

"How you been, buddy?"

"Yeah not bad, senior year and all. Crazy stuff."

"I bet. They'll be throwing all the college crap at you now."

"You got it."

"Guys, look what the cat dragged in," Owen called out. A bunch of the Redhawks called out greetings to Troy, a couple of them coming over and exchanging handshakes.

"These are my teammates, this is Chad, Jason and Zeke. Guys you've got Owen, JR here, and Kenny."

The Wildcats were in awe, but managed to remain relatively calm and cool.

"You're in the baseball team as well yeah? Pitcher?" Kenny said, looking at Chad.

"Yeah..."

"I was at the final last year, my brother graduated from East High and was in the team. Pete Bergman? You played an awesome game dude."

Chad grinned. "Thanks man. You guys were on fire tonight."

"Has your season started yet?" JR asked.

"First game next Friday," Troy said.

"Heard about the fire at East High," Owen remarked.

Troy inwardly cheered, being provided with the ultimate introduction into his sob story.

"Yeah, it bites. Our gym has been taken over by math classes. We're training out on the fucking ashfelt, sharing the court with tennis players."

"That's not real training," JR said.

"Tell us about it," Chad said darkly.

The guys from the Redhawks glanced at each other, Owen nodding slightly. "Gimme a second yeah?"

He disappeared for a few minutes, talking with the coach in the back corner. Owen returned with the coach alongside.

"Troy, good to see you here. Enjoy the game?"

"Absolutely, it was awesome. I have a feeling you guys are gonna have a great season this year," Troy said.

"Owen just told me about your training predicament. If you and your team wanted to come use our gym a couple of times a week, I'm sure we could arrange something. I'm surprised that Mr Evans hadn't already contacted me about the situation to be frank, we could have gotten the ball rolling earlier."

"Well... we wouldn't want to impose," Troy said carefully.

"Please. These guys don't train 24/7, there are plenty of times when the gym is available. I'll give your dad a call first thing in the morning and sort something out."

* * *

When Troy called Gabriella to tell her about the events of the evening, inwardly she was relieved. Her guilt about feeling so happy about the state of their relationship within the calamity of the week had been riding at her a little. Knowing that Troy's world made a little more sense made her feel better about being focused upon the development of their relationship.

"They mentioned Thursday afternoon though as being a time… I wasn't impressed with that."

She caught onto his implication.

"What time though? I mean the juniors on your team don't finish school halfway through the day. So… you'll still have a couple of hours free… right?"

Troy grinned. "That I will."

"We should celebrate tomorrow then," Gabriella murmured.

"Celebrate?"

"Uh huh."

"I'll see if I can squeeze you in."

"You know if I'd said that it could have had all sorts of dirty connotations."

"Well if we're going to be not studying during our spares then… I should probably go do some homework now."

Gabriella sighed. "Yes. Get it all done. Every last bit. Don't go to sleep until you're finished with it. I throw away all of my rules about studying during spares."

"I really have that sort of power over you?"

"That and more."

* * *

Five minutes after arriving at Gabriella's house during their Thursday afternoon off; Troy had already been undressed and was lying naked on her bed.

"Okay... two hours til I have to be at the Redhawks gym," Troy said, glancing at the clock. "Thank God I don't need to give anyone a lift because that would take an extra ten minutes of our time together away."

"That's plenty of time," Gabriella murmured.

For the first time, Gabriella allowed herself to really look at Troy's penis as she stroked it. Troy was staring at Gabriella as she gazed so intently at his most private of regions.

"You look like you're studying it scientifically," he commented.

"I am. It's how my brain operates. It keeps me calm," she admitted.

"Why wouldn't you be calm?" Troy asked softly. "I keep telling you… that… you don't have to…"

"Ssshh," Gabriella hushed him. Her right index finger ran along his length, circling the relevant location as she spoke. "See… this here is the frenulum… and we have the glans… and here is where I became surprised by the lack of foreskin… and the shaft… and the scrotum… and the testicles…"

"I think you're trying to kill me," Troy remarked, his breath hitching.

"Death by penis fondling?" Gabriella asked, as she enclosed her hand around his length.

"Don't you think that's a funny word?" Troy asked, his breath hitching.

"What? Fondling?"

"Penis."

Her hand was now pumping up and down, at a tantalisingly slow speed.

"Better than the female version."

"You can't even say that," Troy teased.

"What word would you prefer to penis then?" Gabriella asked.

"Hmm… how about… sausage?"

Gabriella snorted.

"Very attractive noise there babe."

"Thank you."

"Okay then, you don't like sausage. Willy? Wang? Johnson? Dick?"

"Love wand?" Gabriella supplied, her grasp becoming firmer, the pace of her strokes increasing slightly.

Troy let out a half groan in response to her movement, crossed with a half snort in response to her suggested term.

"Now that was an attractive noise."

"Love wand? Sounds like something from a Mills and Boons novel."

"No, they would use throbbing member," Gabriella said.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "You know this, do you?"

"I plead the fifth."

He grinned, however he couldn't maintain the facial expression for long, his features morphing back into a state of preorgasmic bliss.

"I like your penis," Gabriella said softly.

"See, it sounds weird."

"Well it's no weirder than I like your sausage."

"True."

Gabriella waited a moment, which allowed him to simply lie back, eyes closed, basking in the rising ecstasy that was Gabriella's magical hand. She paused as her hand reached the base of his shaft, gripping tighter.

"I like your cock," Gabriella whispered breathily.

He nearly came there and then, hearing that comment. His eyes shot open, boring into hers, in slight disbelief that the words had come out of her mouth.

"Say it again," Troy demanded.

"I like your cock," Gabriella repeated, a little louder, more emphatically, stroking up and down steadily.

She literally felt him become even harder within her grasp, Troy letting out a strangled groan. His eyes were now closed, lying back. She glanced up, looking at his content expression. She bit her lip slightly, inwardly questioning the sudden urge that she felt. She'd been so focused upon the first steps of the hand job; and the ultimate step that this all would lead towards - sex - that she hadn't given a lot of serious thought to the intermittent steps. Only Troy's suggestion of tasting her had brought her mind to that place. And now suddenly, she was feeling an urge to take a step further. She'd never thought of the act as being one which a girl would voluntarily, actively WANT to be doing. Rather that it would be a chore, an obligation, a means to an end. However as she had his ever growing length within her grasp, she not only wanted to do it for him... but she wanted to do it for her.

She shifted her body slightly, continuing the consistent up and down movement of her right hand, and poised herself. Only when he felt her breath tickle against his length did he realise just what she was about to do. Troy opened his eyes just a moment before Gabriella tentatively ran her tongue from the base to the shaft in one long lick.

"Holy fuck," he gasped. "Oh my God."

"You do realise that I have absolutely no idea what I am doing," she murmured, looking up into his eyes.

"I have one rule and that is no biting. Other than that, you can do whatever the hell you like," Troy said.

Gabriella giggled, and proceeded to experiment; leaving sloppy kisses along his shaft, swirling her tongue around the head, all the while pumping at the base with her fist. She hadn't contemplated the logistics of her untied hair and was already becoming annoyed with it. Troy detected this, sweeping her locks away and holding her hair back. Anything to make the woman with her mouth hovering about your penis more comfortable. Troy was in a state he never could have imagined. A part of him in pure ecstasy; another part wanted to scream at her, _just put the goddamn thing in your mouth, woman. _Gabriella somehow sensed the element of frustration within his grunts and groans. She took a deep breath in preparation, held the base firmly with her hand - although given the height of his arousal this was rather unnecessary - and tentatively enclosed her mouth over the tip of his length.

There was nothing fake about the moans and explicit stutters escaping Troy's mouth; no part of his reaction was put on for the purpose of reassuring her. Given that he'd never actually experienced the act before, he had no comparison. But for one fleeting moment, he thought to himself, _fuck if this is the blowjob of a beginner then fucking hell how good is it going to get with experience? _Gabriella knew her job was sloppy; and was very grateful for Troy's inexperience in that moment in time. She was just concentrating on maintaining a consistent motion without breaking the no biting rule - as well as getting used to breathing almost entirely through her nose. Troy sensed that she was becoming somewhat weary, but didn't have the strength to suggest that she stop. He was in a state of insatiable bliss and knew he wasn't far away. His free hand was brought to the base of her neck, gently stroking and massaging.

"I'm so so close Gabi, fuck this is amazing," was all he could bring himself to say, punctuating the point with a groan.

This gave her a sudden wind, head bobbing increasing in pace; the fist pumping at the base of his length grasping a little firmer, determined to make it happen. Troy felt it building, so so incredibly close.

"Gabi... I'm gonna... do you want..." he gasped, unsure of her intentions for the 'finale.'

Gabriella quickly moved away, replacing her lips with the firm up and down movements of her right hand. Troy's pants and moans escalated into a drawn out guttural groan as she stroked him into the blissful state of completion.

Troy was struggling to regain a regular breathing pattern, and gazing at her with a look of lustful adoration as she was facing away from him, cleaning up the mess with tissues.

"Are you umm... upset that I didn't... you know... in my mouth?" she asked tentatively.

It was all Troy could do to not laugh at her. Her tone was completely serious.

"Don't be stupid, I warned you for a reason."

"It's not that I think it's gross. I just kinda panicked."

"Gabriella, look at me."

Gabriella turned around, looking at him. "You have one extremely, extremely satisfied boyfriend here who does not have one single complaint."

"Was it really okay?" she asked, biting her lip.

He shifted over, kissing her deeply, tongues duelling. The part of his brain which demanded he nap after orgasm was being ignored in favour of the part of his brain that was desperately in love with this girl.

"More than okay. Amazingly brilliantly hot and incredible more like it."

"I just had your penis in my mouth and you're kissing me?"

"And there's a whole lot more I want to do with you," he murmured, kissing her again, working to unbutton her blouse. "Oh my God babe… you are… I just… oh my God I love you."

"Love you too," Gabriella gasped, his hand fumbling with her bra clasp.

To her own annoyance, given the anticipated 'study' date - that morning she hadn't had a spare skirt clean and available to wear. All weekend, and then on Tuesday afternoon - she had resisted from allowing him to remove her skirt. It became a matter of principle, by Tuesday her comfort level had increased significantly. It seemed it was intervention by the fates that the laundry hadn't been done and she had been forced to select a pair of three quarter capris. Because now that Troy was fumbling with the fly and attempting to work his hand into her panties - experiencing difficulty from the non stretchability of the denim - she was rather annoyed with the whole situation.

"Just take them off," she gasped, kissing him softly and moving her hand to the waistband, helping him to pull them down and toss them aside.

As powerful as simultaneous arrival had been, there was a part of Gabriella which reveled in being able to lie back and simply allow herself to enjoy the pleasure of Troy's ravishing. To do nothing except respond to his kisses; and allow the uncontrollable gasps and moans to escape without feeling the need to hold them back.

His mood seemed to be one of mixed variety; unable to decide exactly where or how he wanted to pleasure her. So it seemed he had taken the challenge upon himself to kiss, lick, stroke and caress every inch of her body. She had no doubt there would be little marks all over her neck and breasts as a result of his varied locations of suckling. Meanwhile his right hand was nestled beneath her panties, interchanging between thrusting his fingers inside of her, and allowing them to rub and tease at her clit. Her whole body felt like it was on fire; when he would remove his fingers from one place she would lament their loss at the same time as welcoming the interchanged sensation. She was so close and yet so far. She instinctively knew what she needed to push her over the edge.

"Troy... umm... can you..."

"What, what baby, tell me," he cooed gently.

What Gabriella did next was up on the list of the hottest things that Troy had ever seen his girlfriend do. She brought her hand up to where his left hand was caressing her breast and guided it down, past her abdomen, to where she wanted him to rub. The logistics of two hands trying to do work underneath her panties, whilst by no means impossible, was proving to be difficult.

"Gabriella… can I…"

He had removed his right hand, poising it along the waistband of her panties. Gabriella hesitated, but then nodded, and he quickly removed the obtrusive item. For the first time, Troy and Gabriella were lying together, both completely naked.

Troy would have liked to have spent longer looking, exploring, just as she had just done with him. However her little moans and pants suggested that it was not the time to stop and contemplate. Now with easier access, Troy was able to continue to curl his right middle and index finger inside of her, while gently rubbing at her clitoris with his left hand.

There was no room left to feel self conscious, to contemplate her nudity. All that her brain could think of was the insatiable ecstasy that was swelling inside of her; at the hands of a man she so desperately loved. The previous times he'd brought her off, it had been one or the other. Now, it was not only both but it was everywhere. Building not only from deep within but radiating from the outside.

Finally she arrived, a gasping, writhing, moaning mess; uttering his name over and over.

"Troy… oh… oh my… fuck… Troy… Troy…"

He continued to play with her gently as the height of the orgasm subsided; all the while watching her powerful reaction in an expression of awe; overcome by just how different the current reaction was from her previous reactions.

He cuddled up to her, lovingly and tenderly stroking her arms and rubbing her back.

"I love you," she uttered simply, the three words enough to express everything she was thinking and feeling.

"Course you do when I can make you feel like that," Troy responded cheekily, capturing her lips tenderly. "And for the record, I love you more."

Gabriella smiled, nestling into his body, allowing him to pull the comforter over them.

"So you realise we are both naked under here," Troy murmured.

"Uh uh."

"You okay with that?"

"Yes."

"I kinda want to stay here forever."

"So you should. Your team doesn't need you at practice. And I think my mom will be fine with you moving in."

Troy chuckled. "You just want a live in… orgasm bringer-er."

"Hey, I give as well thank you."

"Yes, believe me, I recall very vividly."

Lips met in a lazy, languorous set of kisses.

"So for you... that was like when I rub here... and like when I am feeling in here... all at once?"

Gabriella nodded, a slight smile toying on her lips. "Yup."

"You girls are so lucky."

"It compensates for childbirth and the menstrual cycle."

Troy grinned. "Damn you women, always using those two things as argument for everything."

They were holding this conversation lying side by side on Gabriella's bed under the covers, both participants naked. Troy was lying on his side, propped by his elbow, head resting on his hand. With his spare hand, he was playing with Gabriella – first her hand, running fingers up her arm, twirling her hair around, circling around her breasts. Gabriella too was enjoying Troy's body. She was running a hand over his muscular chest and biceps, and massaging the back of his neck where she knew he loved her to. They were both in post orgasmic bliss, enjoying exploring one another's bodies – after all, they were still new and relatively uncharted.

"I hope you didn't mind me uh… showing you…" Gabriella began.

"Oh no. That was… my god that was hot when you did that. I know these hands may be deceivingly talented but this is all new to me… I need you to show me what pleases you."

"Everything you do pleases me," Gabriella admitted. "I think what you need is an extra set of hands so you can do it all at once."

Troy coughed. "Well, I do have some friends who might be interested…."

"Troy!!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he said hastily.

"I only want Troy hands."

"What about… what about Gabriella hands?"

Gabriella's eyes widened at the innuendo. "Are you suggesting that I…. while you…"

"Don't you ever…"

"No! No…" she trailed off. "Maybe once or twice. Recently. But it's nothing like…. Nothing like with you. I don't even know if I ever really had… if it had worked."

Troy grinned. It was adorable how embarrassed she was. And amazing how despite her embarrassment, she was willing to talk so openly about it.

"If it makes you feel any better, I've been doing it on very regular basis since meeting you, Gabriella," he informed her.

* * *

Leaving Gabriella's was painful. Especially when he came back from taking a quick shower to see her still lolling around in bed, wearing the t-shirt he had been wearing.

"You might want to change before your mom gets home," Troy said with a smirk.

"For all she knows I like to wear boys clothing just for the sake of it."

* * *

Gabriella was basking in her afterglow when her cell phone began to ring. She half expected it to be Troy, but it was in fact Ryan.

"I'm such a dumbass. I worked out the solution."

"The solution to what? Your algebra?"

"No silly. The musical. We should do it at Lava Springs!"

"Is the stage there big enough?"

"We'd need to modify the script a little. But that arena is hardly ever used, and since my parents OWN the place my dad isn't restricted by the company or budgets. And my mom is totally on our side so she will make it happen."

Gabriella's face broke into an even wider smile. "This is possibly the best afternoon of my life."

"Why, what else happened?" Ryan asked.

Gabriella blushed. "Nothing."

"Oh. It's Thursday," Ryan said knowingly.

"Why do you sound all knowing?"

"Gabriella I'm not stupid. Even when people aren't directly informed of these sorts of developments, you can pretty much tell that stuff is going on. Goofy smiles and lustful glances give it all away."

"We're not having sex," Gabriella insisted.

"Yet," Ryan said knowingly.

"Yet," she agreed.

"Anyway... I'm gonna go wait for my mom to get home and pounce on her with my plan. Hopefully we'll have some good news to deliver at the pep rally tomorrow at lunch."

"Shit… I was meant to help Troy with his speech," Gabriella said, suddenly realising, and adding lamely, "We were… umm… busy."

"Okay seriously, you have to be careful here. When Gabriella Montez is letting her pre sex life get in the way of responsibilities…"

"Yeah yeah shut up. We already talked about what he's gonna say, and we've got period 1 and 2 together and then our spare in the morning so there will be plenty of time to organise it. Did you talk to Paula?"

"Yup. All good on that end."

"Not a bad job given the craziness of this week."

"Well, we make a good team," Ryan declared.

"That we do."

"Okay. Do me favour though and give Troy a call tonight and make sure he's still okay with the speech thing."

"I would have been calling him anyway so yes, I will make sure to bring that up."

"No kinky phone sex distracting you?"

"Ryan!" Gabriella gaped, horrified.

"Kidding kidding," he said hastily. "I'll talk to you later."

* * *

Troy arrived five minutes late to the Redhawks gym. If it hadn't been for the presence of his father, the boys would have been wolf whistling and patting him on the back. As it was, Chad's eyes were narrowed at the sight of the somewhat faraway expression on Troy's face.

"Blowjob?" he asked his friend in a low voice.

Troy stared at him. "How the fuck do you know these things?"

"It might as well be written on your forehead man. Seriously."

**

* * *

****AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

1. I would like to send a massive, heartfelt and sincere thank you to each and every person who has left a review for _Someday _at any stage throughout the last eighteen chapters. Last chapter I broke the 500 reviews mark; and I was just hit with this incredible swell of love and gratitude to all of you. A part of me wants to use this soap box here to divulge personal dramas and issues but I won't. I will just say that you guys touch my life more than you will ever realise. I am so grateful to have your support. I love hearing from you guys, I love hearing your thoughts and opinions because it's your support which motivates and inspires me to write. Efron and co brought me to the fandom but it was all of you who make me want to write.

2. I would like to thank both Ayen and Martin for the efforts they have been putting in to support me in my writing endeavours. They've both been there supporting me since way back in _Here With You_ and ironically could not be more opposite in terms of their specialties; however the result is that I have been able to develop my own abilities at multiple levels.

3. On the note of people who have supported me; one of my most fabulous, wonderful and insightful reviewers Kate (_kat1estone) _has drawn to my attention that her fic, _Falling Into You_ has been deleted by the administration of this website. Now... okay... this is a rather contentious issue in itself which many of you are aware of that is going on at the moment; basically stories which are based upon real people are technically against the terms and conditions of this website and if reported by someone, administration have the right to delete them. Anyway, I want to draw to your attention that there is a fan fic archive independent to this website specifically for HSM and **HSM** **cast** related fics, _The Music In Me, _for which I have a link to in my profile. If you enjoy Z/V fic, I highly recommend that you check out _Falling Into You,_ it's stored at _The Music In Me_ under the author name _ks480._ And additionally, if you are someone who either writes or is contemplating writing a Z/V story or anything real life, can I recommend that you perhaps utilise _The Music In Me_ or some other publication mechanism than this website - better to be safe than sorry.


	20. Chapter 20

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies. Upon opening this document, you agree to waive any right to sue the author for any personal injury or death caused as a result of anticipation or suspense created by a cliffhanger or any other element of the content within; or for any other adverse reaction which comes from reading my work.

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* * *

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Chapter 20

After a lustful Friday good morning kiss on the doorstep of the Montez house, Troy had news to get over and done with - news that he was feeling rather hesitant about providing.

"Hey, so you know how we were gonna hang tomorrow night? I uh... I kinda have to bail," Troy said hesitantly. "My dad surprised me last night, telling me he got us these tickets to a college ball game up in Santa Fe, it's like a totally important game and I had no idea he was gonna get them."

Gabriella sensed just why Troy was sounding so hesitant. "That's okay. Really. That's lovely that he did that for you."

"But I feel bad coz we had plans..."

"It's okay though. We're still going to dinner with Chad and Taylor tonight after your training session though, right?"

"Definitely, as long as they're still up for it."

"You were really worried that I would be mad, weren't you?" Gabriella asked softly.

"Well... umm... yeah," he admitted.

"I've moved on Troy. We've moved on. At least, I thought we had."

"We have, my God yes we have," he said firmly.

She smiled, taking his hand with hers. "Good. That's settled then. I get a Saturday night to myself for once," she teased. "Now let's get going before my mom comes out and asks why your truck is still outside."

They headed down the driveway to his truck and began the drive to school.

"So free period, are we working on your speech for the pep rally?"

"I told you last night that I have it all sorted. I made notes and everything. You can check it if you like, I have them just in my bag there..."

"No no, it's fine. I trust you."

"See, because I am more than just a jock. This jock has more skills than just playing basketball."

Troy had not intended any sexual innuendo with his statement.

"Indeed you do. Although I'm certain basketball has assisted in ensuring you are good with your hands which enhances those skills..." she said flirtatiously.

Troy couldn't help but stare at Gabriella for a moment. Luckily they had just pulled up at a red stoplight, otherwise it could have been a dangerous situation.

"Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?"

Gabriella's expression turned to one of being worried. "Do I sound slutty? It just popped out of my mouth. Maybe I need to create a filter between my brain and my mouth."

"God no. You say whatever your mind desires. You're just really making me wanna..."

"Troy?"

"Hmm?"

"The light is green."

"Oh!"

Gabriella giggled, changing the subject - sensing that perhaps it wasn't appropriate to distract him whilst driving. "And so you're right to edit in about the musical being back on?"

"Did Ryan actually confirm it with you yet?"

"No, but it sounded promising last night."

"Hopefully he can pull it off."

Gabriela cleared her throat. "So uh... about the musical..."

"I'm not auditioning," Troy said quietly, but firmly.

"I suspected as much."

"I wanna do it, I'll admit that much, especially if you're doing it. But I need to prioritise. Basketball is my future, you know? If things weren't all messed up with training and not having the gym, maybe it would be a different story. But it's all so crazy and I can't let my team down."

"It's okay. Really. As much as I want to do it with you, I actually think it's kinda cool that I've made the decision to do it for me, without you."

Troy glanced sideways at her. "I think that's pretty cool too."

* * *

As Troy and Gabriella headed up the footpath to their morning meeting place, they spotted a giant, human sized candy cane. Well, they spotted Ryan Evans who could not have been wearing more red and white if he tried. He was wearing a red and white striped miniature top hat, a red jacket which had white detailing and lettering; a white t-shirt; red jeans; and red and white checked vans.

"Dude... that's very... spirited," Troy remarked.

"It is the first pep rally of the year. I'm showing pep. You should be showing MORE pep given the rally is mainly for you lot."

Troy glanced down, he was wearing a white shirt with his black and red East High jacket.

"I could change into my uniform later if that helps."

"Slightly. Gabriella, good work." Gabriella too was in spirit, with white three quarter pants, a red halter top and Troy's white and red East High letterman jacket she had been given.

"Where's the scarf we gave you for your birthday last year?" Jason asked.

"I am saving it for the game," Gabriella said. "So? What's the situation with Lava Springs?"

Ryan broke into a smile. "All good. We're a go."

Gabriella squealed, hugging him. "Yes!"

"There's a lot of details to sort out but they're in the process of being sorted."

Chad and Taylor arrived just a moment later.

"Sup guys," Chad greeted them.

Ryan was looking Taylor up and down. "THIS is your effort? A red shirt?"

She looked at him somewhat testily. "Yes."

Since Ryan and Taylor's tiff a few days earlier, she had been cold towards him. It wasn't anything direct that she was saying, it was just her overall attitude toward him which had altered. Ryan had been making every effort to smooth things over, to ask her random questions about her classes and how she was fitting in with the debate team. However Taylor had refused to warm up to him again.

Ryan exhaled. "This has been going on for days. I can hardly even remember why you got narky at me in the first place."

"You called me closed minded," Taylor reminded him, a bitterness to her tone.

"And have been trying to apologise for it ever since."

"You meant it though Ryan, that's why it hurt. I am really, really offended. You can call me a bitch, or bossy, or a snob, or a nerd, or opinionated – and I'll take it. But the last 6 months of my life I have been the freaking QUEEN of open mindedness. Look at me, I'm dating Chad Danforth for crying out loud."

Chad gave his girlfriend a sideways glance which she didn't notice. Lovely that she thought she had to be so incredibly open minded to date him.

"I didn't mean that you were closed minded in general. I was referring specifically to Sharpay. And let's face it, pretty much everyone has just put Sharpay in a box and isn't willing to budge. And I take very serious offense to that."

Taylor's arms were folded across her chest. "All you ever do is bitch about her."

"I'm allowed to. She's my sister. Just like you bitch about your sister and call her a slag. But if any one of us said anything against her, you'd jump down our throats."

Taylor couldn't call him on that one.

"Seriously Tay, can we just let bygones be bygones and drop this? I hate all this tension, it's stupid."

She sighed. "I guess."

Ryan pursed his lips. "Are you just saying that for the sake of saying it?"

"No," Taylor said, although it was questionable from her tone whether he was right on the money. "I don't like tension any more than you do."

Ryan nodded, forcing a smile. "Well good then. This is good."

* * *

Ryan was nervous. This pep rally was officially the first task of he and his student council's term; and they'd set a huge task ahead of them. It didn't help that preparations had been awry with the drama of the week. During free period, all he wanted to do was make sure everything was under control. He was pacing backwards and forwards, as his friends were lounging about the quad.

"So we give everyone ten minutes to grab food and get out there, then the..."

"Ryan, it's all organised. Sit down," Gabriella said comfortingly. "Besides, all the people you need to talk to about it are sitting right here," she said, indicating around their group of people.

Ryan sighed. "I'm just nervous."

"It's just a pep rally man. Seriously. Paula and the girls cheer, we run out, everyone claps. The end," Jason said.

"You know very well that we have a lot more than that going on," Ryan said witheringly.

"But worst case scenario, you'll just have a regular pep rally. Anything else above that you're exceeding typical expectations," Martha pointed out.

"I guess."

Ryan was not one to do something half heartedly. When he went all out - he went ALL out. He turned to Troy. "Now you're sure everything is good with the speech?"

"Yes. I've already been grilled by Gabriella. It's fine," Troy insisted.

Ryan spotted Sharpay storming across the quad.

"Hey Shar," he called out.

To his utmost surprise, not only did she look up but she stomped over. "WHY is everyone so incompetent?" she spat.

"What happened?" Ryan asked, preparing himself for the worst.

"The stupid back up dancers for my audition want to wear GOLD."

"And?"

"I'm wearing silver. I gave them a choice between blue and pink, which from me, is a VERY generous offer to allow them to choose. And they seem to think that they are in charge and that gold is what they want to wear."

Ryan smiled sympathetically. "Totally on your side here, if you're wearing silver they so cannot wear gold. It just doesn't work."

"At least SOMEONE understands."

"Just put your foot down Shar. It's your audition."

"Duh. Like I was going to let them walk all over me. I'm off to find them now. Toodles!"

"So all is right in the world again?" Troy remarked quietly as Sharpay strutted away.

"It's better anyway. When mom came on board with the plan to use Lava Springs last night, it was like this giant cloud just lifted in our house. Not just about the fall production but over all the shit that's been going on between us in general."

"That's awesome," Gabriella said, squeezing Ryan's arm.

Zeke and Monica approached the group hand in hand. Jason coughed. "Err Monica... can I suggest you do your buttons up properly?"

Monica glanced down, realising she had skipped the bottom button and it was uneven. "Zeke! Why didn't you say something!" she exclaimed, facing into him so she could fix it.

"I didn't see! I was... too busy looking at your beautiful face," he declared.

She raised her eyebrows. "I'll give you points for the cheese."

"This is disgusting. It's like couples paradise," Paula remarked as Zeke and Monica joined the group.

Gabriella was lying with her head resting on Troy's thigh; his hand lazily stroking her hair. And now Zeke and Monica were cosied up together.

"Feel glad Taylor isn't here, then it would be worse," Martha pointed out.

"You too could be in a couple if you would go out with one of the dozens of boys who ask you out every week," Monica pointed out to Paula.

"Hmm... not interested."

"Who cares? Just go on a freaking date. He'll buy you dinner, if it doesn't go well you give him a kiss on the cheek and say good night and if it goes well..."

"There is one guy I kinda like. Not my usual type though?"

"Not an athlete?"

"Nope."

"Wow. Who is is? All the good talent at this school are athletes."

"Well I'm taken so..." Troy said cockily.

"Ha, you wish Bolton. Been there, done that and dumped you, remember?" Paula teased.

"You guys went out?" Gabriella asked, feeling a twinge of jealousy.

"Paula was my first girlfriend. We were 9. I dropped my sandwich one day and she gave me half of hers. I asked her out and so we were boyfriend and girlfriend. We talked on the phone all afternoon. Then I got to school the next morning and she dumped me. Jake called her later the previous night and asked her out."

"That is adorable," Gabriella exclaimed.

"So back on track, who's the lucky guy?" Chad asked.

"Not telling," Paula said, blushing a little.

"You know, you could be the first head cheerleader, like, EVER in the history of the entire universe to not be with some hot shot athlete," Jason remarked.

"Speaking of cheerleaders and athletes, is it true that all the sophomore cheerleaders have a thing for Jase?" Chad asked.

"Oh, I KNOW that's true," Jason said. "I'm sick of them. They won't leave me alone. I wish they were harassing Troy still. Gabriella, can you pretend that you're not dating Troy so they'll harass him again?"

"God no. You take them. All of them," Troy said, shuddering.

"Well you are the only single senior basketball player. You should lap it up man," Zeke said.

"Nah. Not my thing," Jason said aloofly.

A smile was toying on Kelsi's lips.

"Oh! The cookies! For the bake sale!" Ryan yelped.

"Sorted," Zeke said. "Chill man."

* * *

Gabriella was mesmerised. She'd never actually attended a pep rally before, typically retreating to the library during such events. Standing with Ryan, making the rounds, she was mesmerised with just how excited the kids of East High were about the novelty of all wearing red and white and cheering. The bake sale stand was a huge hit - they'd been advertising to get your hands on Zeke's creations which seemed to go down well with the ladies. A few student clubs had set up stalls trying to gain additional members. The cheerleaders were in the process of performing their first routine. A group of freshman boys were standing right at the front ogling. Half the cheerleaders were offended. The other half kicked a little higher in response. Dozens upon dozens upon dozens of students were milling around the quad, whooping and hollering as the girls led the '"WHAT TEAM?" chant for the school to respond to.

"Ladies and gentlemen, introducing this years Varsity basketball team!" Paula cried into the microphone.

The girls cheered each of the guys out individually in the classical "Gimme a C... Gimme an H... Gimme an A... Gimme a D... what's it spell... CHAD!" fashion.

Gabriella cheered along politely, but looked over at Martha and Kelsi in slight bewilderment as to just how vocal the kids were becoming. However when Troy was introduced and the girls went mental - it was Gabriella who was squealing and cheering the loudest.

Over the last two years on the varsity basketball squad, Troy had been to about 10 pep rallies more or less in honour of the team. When he'd first run out to have people screaming for him, he'd been bewildered, embarassed. _I'm just a guy, just one of you. I just happen to play basketball._ Then pep rally after pep rally, he became accustomed to the cheering. Gradually the cheering became louder. Then he began to revel in the cheering. Now, he was standing in front of his team, lapping it up.

"What team??"

"Wildats!"

"I can't hear you?! WHAT TEAM??"

Gabriella was standing at the back, staring at her boyfriend, eyes fixated. One would think that she might find it a little strange having a crowd of girls cheering for her boyfriend. Rather, she felt proud. In that moment as he was chanting, his eyes kept flickering back in her direction, slight smile toying on his lips.

Troy's speech was kept relatively basic. The theme for the year was received well by all, spontaneous cheers erupting that Troy had to pause to wait for them to dissapate before he could continue speaking. He made mention of all of the stalls and the bake sale - highlighting that profits were going towards buying new equipment for the music department, to replace the items destroyed in the fire.

"And while you're all applauding, can I here it for the awesome work of the student council for organising all this stuff today. And an especially enormous hand for your absolutely stunning senior class vice president Gabriella Montez..." wolf whistles ensued, Gabriella looking somewhat pleased and yet somewhat mortified. "And the ever vibrant Ryan Evans, your senior class president."

Troy's final logistical announcement was the one which was best received.

"Also, you've probably heard the rumours so I just want to confirm it to y'all. It is 100 official that the fall musical is effectively UNcancelled. The production will take place more or less as planned, being hosted by the Lava Springs Country Club. Auditions will be going ahead on Monday. The location is to be confirmed, listen out to the notices on Monday morning in homeroom. The musical is such a blast to be a part of - you're hearing it from the horses mouth here - and this production is going to absolutely kick ass. I've read the whole script and it is going to be truly amazing. There are parts for EVERYONE here guys. Big parts, little parts. You don't need to be able to sing and dance and act all in one to take part. There will also be sign ups for those interested in just generally helping out with the production. With costumes, sets, props, make up, generally running around on the night and being useful."

Troy paused.

"It's easy to become wrapped up in our own little existence here at high school, to go through and just go with the flow and stick with doing what you've always done. This school is so incredibly awesome, there's so much out there that we can do and experience and participate in. I put the challenge down to each and every one of you to try something different. To challenge yourself to do something that you've always wanted to do but have been wary of doing. Your dreams have no limitations, so I say just go for it."

* * *

A few days early, plans had been set down by Taylor, Gabriella, Chad and Troy for a Friday night double date. The basic itinerary for the evening was to head to a local diner, and then to catch a movie. Each of the guys drove their respective girlfriend. Gabriella had casually suggested they be environmentally friendly and carpool – a suggestion which was quickly shot down by Chad.

"What if, say, me and Taylor want to hang out AFTER the movie or… or… something?" he had said.

Gabriella had smirked, knowing that 'hang out' was a euphemism for 'fool around in my car'.

So the couples were driving separately. The drive from the McKessie house to the diner had been void of a lot of talk. Chad put a CD he had just burnt into the CD player, and turned it up. It was a short drive to the diner, only a song and a half had time to play. Chad pulled into the parking lot and set out at a cracking pace, walking a couple of paces in front of Taylor. She was watching him carefully, as he was staring at the ground, hands shoved deep inside his pockets.

"Chad?" Taylor ventured. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah of course, why?"

"You've been a bit quiet is all."

Chad smiled at her. "Just tired I think. You know, training this afternoon and yesterday and the day before and so on."

Her expression gave away that she didn't believe him.

"Really. I'm fine," he insisted. "Come on, don't want to be late."

* * *

Small talk was made as they examined the menus and placed orders. Gabriella's eyeballs were dollar signs as she revealed just how much money they'd made at the bake sale - apparently an East High record. Taylor talked excitedly about the debate team, with the competition due to start in a couple of weeks. Troy spoke animatedly about training and how the team was going. Chad sat in relative silence, commenting when directly spoken to and that was about it. He stood abruptly, heading in the direction of the men's room without saying a word.

"Is it just me or has he been a bit weird?" Gabriella said softly.

"Not just you. He's been weird all day. I asked him about it and he just said he's tired," Taylor said.

"You think it's more?"

"Yup." Taylor's eyes shifted to Troy. "Could you... could you talk to him?"

Troy sighed. "Taylor, guys don't do this, we don't harass each other just because we're in a bit of weird mood. If he says he's tired he's probably just tired. If he wants to talk about something, he'll talk about it. That's Chad."

"Yeah but..."

"If you're worried then you talk to him," Troy said.

Taylor sighed. "I tried."

* * *

After they finished their meals, Gabriella disappeared to the bathroom, Troy's eyes trailing after her.

"I know you're watching me," she called back.

"Uh huh," Troy said, not caring in the slightest.

"You're so gone aren't you?" Taylor said, watching Troy with a smile.

"Yes. Make sure she knows that. Tell her over and over and over if necessary."

"Believe me, she knows."

Taylor's phone sounded a moment later, and she pulled it out, reading the text message.

"Excuse me," she said, jumping up and heading towards the bathroom.

"Man chicks are weird with the bathroom thing, hey?" Troy remarked to Chad.

Chad didn't respond.

"Chad?"

"What? Oh. Yeah. Yeah they are."

Troy studied his friend. "Taylor said I should ask you if there's something wrong."

Chad exhaled. "I told her I'm tired. Why do they always think there's something more to it?"

"Yeah that's what I said."

"If she's worried she should just talk to me about it herself."

"Also what I said."

Gabriella and Taylor returned.

"What do y'all do in there anyway?" Troy asked.

"Talk about you," Gabriella teased.

"As long as it's all good, that's fine," Troy declared.

* * *

Arrangements were made to head from the diner up a few blocks to the cinema to catch a movie. Each of the boys drove their respective girlfriends. Troy and Gabriella were walking hand in hand from the cinema parking lot up to the main building.

"Umm... the cinema could prove to be... an interesting location. You're wearing a skirt which helps," Troy said coyly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Even if I was inclined to be interested in public forays, it won't be happening tonight."

Troy pouted. "Why not?"

She cleared her throat. "Erm... because."

"Because why?" he persisted.

"If you're not careful I could accuse you of forming a one track mind after only a week and a half since... the development."

"I've always had the one track mind. I just did an excellent job of suppressing it. And I am not asking because it's all I care about, I'm asking because of the way that you made that remark," Troy retorted, squeezing her hand.

Gabriella sighed. "Fine. Umm... the reason is... because... there will be a few days every month when it won't be happening."

She waited for Troy to work out the meaning of her somewhat cryptic remark.

"Oh. OH! That's why Taylor ran after you in the bathroom huh?"

"Yeah."

"I have to care about this stuff now, don't I?" Troy mused. "You should write me out a calendar."

Gabriella giggled. "Maybe it's good that we're not seeing each other this weekend."

"We can still hang out!" Troy said.

"I could... I could still... you know... do you?" Gabriella suggested coyly.

"It's no fun if it's one sided. Besides, I think it's healthy to spend time together that isn't about... the stuff."

"Very chivalrous of you."

"What are you doing Sunday then? I have training at the Redhawks gym in the afternoon but I've got the morning free."

"Actually I kinda have plans," Gabriella said. "Taylor and I are studying in the morning; then I'm seeing Ry and Kelsi in the afternoon to prepare for my audition."

"That's okay. We can manage two days apart," Troy said. "I don't like the idea but surely we can manage."

"Can we?" Gabriella asked.

Her tone was teasing but the truth was that the idea of spending two whole days not seeing him sounded somewhat painful.

"Well there's no choice, is there? Unless I come to your balcony and serenade you," he suggested.

"I wouldn't be surprised if my mom gets that tree cut down to prevent such late night trysts from occurring."

"I'm surprised she hasn't already done that."

"We should try to go for the whole weekend without talking to each other," Gabriella suggested.

Troy raised his eyebrows at this suggestion. "Okay not seeing you is bad enough, but you're saying I can't call you either? What if... what if I need help with my math?"

"I knew that was the only reason you ever called me!"

"Of course. Why else would I ever want to talk to you?" Troy said innocently.

Gabriella pretended to huff off in the opposite direction. "Well then..."

He grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him. "Maybe I like to talk to you coz I love you," he murmured breathily.

"Maybe I feel the same way," Gabriella murmured, allowing him to kiss her deeply.

"OI! PDA is officially banned," Chad called out, tossing his car keys in the air as he and Taylor approached from the parking lot.

"Oh shut up," Troy said.

"Guess what? Troy and I aren't going to talk to each other at all this weekend," Gabriella announced.

Taylor scoffed. "Oh please."

"No really."

"Oh God. Does this mean that while we're meant to be studying on the weekend, you're going to be whining that you want to talk to him?"

Gabriella blushed. "Taylor!"

"Damn straight she will be. She will crack under the pressure of her own stupid plan," Troy declared. "I bet by tomorrow afternoon you will break and text me."

Gabriella turned to look at him. "You think I'll be the one to crack?"

"Who calls me like three times every night?"

"Who texts me eight times a night asking when I'm going to call?" Gabriella countered.

Chad sighed. "Man. This is gonna be a long weekend for all of us, isn't it?"

* * *

When Troy's alarm sounded on Saturday morning, he was awoken from a vivid dream about being chased by a talking peacock at the zoo. He automatically reached for his cell phone, opening a text message. Mentally he had began to compose the message, and got as far as Morning beautiful, just woke up for work and…

And then he remembered.

It was second nature to pick up his phone and text Gabriella when something amusing happened. To call her during his break. He was mentally cursing his girlfriend for thinking that a 'no communication' weekend was a flash idea. Being so busy with their lives that it was going to be logically difficult to see one another was bad enough. He couldn't help but reflect upon how ironic it was that he and Gabriella were embarking upon this new phase of their relationship where communication was more important than ever; where they were recovering from the mistakes of summer which essentially were caused by a communication breakdown. And now, he was being challenged to not contact her?

Nevertheless, a challenge was a challenge and Troy was a competitive individual. He wouldn't crack. It would be difficult, he would have to put a reminder as the wallpaper on his phone – Don't Text Her! But this, he could do.

* * *

At 9 at night on Saturday, Gabriella was pacing about her room. She had one of the most productive Saturday's she'd had since…. Well… since the beginning of her relationship with Troy. Because she had to remain busy. There was just no alternative. She'd turned her phone off and put it in the back of the cupboard; and then kept busy all day long. All homework was completed, she'd ran through her audition song ready for her rehearsal in the morning with Ryan and Kelsi; she'd gotten ahead with three assignments; she'd written a short story just for fun; she'd surfed around fanfiction . net for hours (her correct fixation being Grey's Anatomy); she'd sorted through her wardrobe arranging the items by colour and type; and she'd reread the fourth Harry Potter book. Elena Montez had laughed when Gabriella had informed her of the plan – and then glanced sympathetically at her daughter who, when the house phone rang, ran to answer it in the hope that Troy had indeed cracked – even though she knew very well that he was in Santa Fe watching basketball.

* * *

On Sunday night, both Troy and Gabriella went to sleep around 8pm. It was the earliest that either of them had gone to bed since elementary school. They both went to sleep with a smile on their face. The sooner they went to sleep, the sooner it would be Monday. And the sooner they could see the other.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Sorry for the wank at the end there. The silly romantic girl inside has to go there sometimes. Anyway this chapter is one that on its own I think is rather blah but as the author I know all the little stuff that happened here that is foreshading a lot of other stuff that is coming up. So within the wider context of the story, this is one of those ones that if you came back to read in like six months, in retrospect you'll get a lot more. Whatever. Soooo musical auditions tomorrow in _Someday_ land! I have to name the musical actually... I kept putting off naming it and I realised (as I was writing like chapter 32) that I STILL just refer to it as "the musical" or "Kelsi's script" or... something like that. I'd better start thinking about that... hmm.


	21. Chapter 21

**S O M E D A Y **

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I have incorporated a _previously_ section because some of your reviews indicated to me that I needed to be a bit clearer with what it is that Chad was upset about. No, he wasn't just tired. There was a passage earlier in the chapter that gave it away. Also I just wanted to remind you of some other stuff that happened because... well because I can. Do you find previously's useful? Would you like me to incorporate these more? As the story goes on, a lot has been happening and even more is going to happen. So let me know if you think you would find it beneficial if I was to pick out anything I think necessary to recall where this chapter is building upon, the little facts that provide context and what not.

Shout outs and eternally grateful waves and hugs to Martin and Ayen for previewing and commentating my work. :-)

* * *

**Previously, on _Someday_**

Gabriella cleared her throat. "So uh... about the musical..."

"I'm not auditioning," Troy said quietly, but firmly. "I wanna do it, I'll admit that much, especially if you're doing it. But I need to prioritise. Basketball is my future, you know? If things weren't all messed up with training and not having the gym, maybe it would be a different story. But it's all so crazy and I can't let my team down."

**AND**

Ryan exhaled. "This has been going on for days. I can hardly even remember why you got narky at me in the first place."

"You called me closed minded," Taylor reminded him, a bitterness to her tone.

"And have been trying to apologise for it ever since."

"You meant it though Ryan, that's why it hurt. I am really, really offended. You can call me a bitch, or bossy, or a snob, or a nerd, or opinionated – and I'll take it. **But the last 6 months of my life I have been the freaking QUEEN of open mindedness. Look at me, I'm dating ****Chad Danforth for crying out loud**."

**AND**

Troy studied his friend. "Taylor said I should ask you if there's something wrong."

Chad exhaled. "I told her I'm tired. Why do they always think there's something more to it?"

"Yeah that's what I said."

"If she's worried she should just talk to me about it herself."

**AND**

"We should try to go for the whole weekend without talking to each other," Gabriella suggested.

Troy raised his eyebrows at this suggestion. "Okay not seeing you is bad enough, but you're saying I can't call you either?"

**

* * *

****Chapter 21**

When Monday morning finally arrived, Troy threw caution into the wind and arrived at Gabriella's fifteen minutes early, not caring whether her mother was at home or not. The minute he pulled up, the front door flew open. His face broke into a broad grin, seeing Gabriella run down the driveway. He had barely had time to step out of his truck when she barreled straight into his arms, almost knocking him over. Bright smiles melted into desperate kisses; with a breathy conversation being held between kisses.

"Let's never, ever do that again," Gabriella declared, before kissing him again.

"Can I remind you that it was YOUR idea?"

"I'm a stupid girl."

Troy pressed his lips to hers yet again, this time deepening the kiss, allowing himself to be lost within Gabriella and the lips of Gabriella and the tongue of Gabriella. Every moment away from her – she'd still been with him, plaguing his every thought. And now, there was time to make up for. Troy managed to pull away, his forehead still pressed to hers.

"How was your practice at Ryan's?" he murmured, before attacking her lips yet again.

Gabriella pulled away, just for long enough to give her response. "Good. How was the game in Santa Fe? And training yesterday?"

"Both good. But this is better."

Gabriella had always loved kissing Troy. She'd spent weeks at the beginning of their relationship agonising about it, worrying about her technique. But once she had finally let go, she had come to love it. And as their relationship had progressed, she had become more comfortable with prolonging the kiss; with allowing herself to be caught up the moment; fingers clawing; bodies pressed up. However kissing Troy had never been as good at it was at that moment. It was amazing what two days could do for one's appreciation of their lover. Troy brought his left hand up, and not removing his lips from hers, he peered with his left eye at his watch before breaking away once more.

"Is your mom home?" he asked coyly. "Because your neighbours are getting a bit of a show right now."

"She's already left for work," Gabriella responded breathily. "What on earth are you insinuating? I still have my… you know…"

"I do recall that. I wasn't insinuating anything like that. But on that topic, when might that be due to be over?"

"By tomorrow."

Lips gravitated together once more, in another series of zealous kisses.

"That's good... very good..." Troy murmured.

"Horny much?" Gabriella teased.

"Yes," he said bluntly. "And there's this lustful look in your eye indicating that it is a mutual feeling."

Gabriella blushed, but did not say anything to confirm nor deny the accusation. She merely cleared her throat. "Well, I'm not actually ready yet so you can come in and wait."

"Sorry, I came early. Wanted to see you."

"Don't worry. That was also mutual."

"Also?" Troy jibed.

Gabriella merely smiled, and led him by the hand back up the driveway.

* * *

After being at school for less than ten minutes, Troy was already wishing that he could have just stayed at Gabriella's forever. As the Wildcats gathered out the front of the school grounds, Katie from the drama club approached.

"Hey guys, looking forward to the auditions this afternoon?" Katie asked, filled with good intention.

Troy stood quietly while Ryan and Gabriella spoke excitedly about the parts they wanted to audition for; and Kelsi spoke excitedly about how her script was going to be brought to life; and Martha spoke excitedly about auditioning for the dance troop.

"And what about you Troy? Mike seemed like he'd be up your alley."

"I'm not auditioning," Troy said bluntly.

"What?! But after the Lava Springs talent show..."

"Yeah. Things are just freaking crazy at the moment with not having the gym for practice so... you know."

"That's a shame. You would be so incredibly awesome in that role."

It was the third time he'd had this exchange; the third time he'd had this reaction - the third time he'd felt the pang of regret as he spoke the words _I'm not auditioning._

"I feel like wearing a sandwich board saying 'Really. I'm NOT auditioning. Stop rubbing it in'," Troy said with gritted teeth.

"Just take it as flattery that people want to see you in the show," Gabriella suggested.

Troy sighed. "I guess."

"Come here," Gabriella murmured, pulling him by his t-shirt towards her, pressing her lips to his softly.

"Hmm... I should be upset more often if I'll always get cheered up with kisses," Troy responded softly.

"You don't need to be upset to get kissed."

"What do I need to do then?"

"Hmm... pretty much just stand there."

Troy grinned. "Okay standing here... where's my kissage?"

The policies of PDA on school property seemed a world away as Troy and Gabriella made up for lost time. It was all Gabriella could do to control herself from NOT sneaking her hand down south to where she could feel something pressing against her upper thigh.

"Bolton, do you have the playbook?" Chad called.

Not removing his lips from Gabriella's, Troy shrugged his backpack off and held it out. Chad rolled his eyes, inwardly contemplating what had happened the last time he'd gone through Troy's bag when his friend was too busy with Gabriella to retrieve something himself. Nevertheless, he proceeded to rifle through. Math book, random folder, exercise book, school diary, open musical script...

Hang on.

Chad narrowed his eyes, flicking a glance at Troy, confirming that his friend was clearly distracted. He held the script up, examining it in greater detail. Not only was it open to the audition pages for Mike, but there were lines highlighted and notes added in Troy's scrawl about stage directions and reactions.

"You find it?" Troy asked, breaking away from Gabriella for just long enough to ask the question and then proceeding to kiss her again.

Chad quickly kept searching. "Yeah man. Thanks."

* * *

Gabriella spent the entirety of her lunch break reading over lines she had memorised; and the lyrics and notes of a song she had mastered.

"Could I steal your attention for a moment?"

Gabriella looked up to see Mr Davis looming over her.

"Hi sir," she said, somewhat distractedly.

"Auditions this afternoon?"

"Yup."

"Good luck. Just wanted to ask if you were interested in making some extra money?"

"Extra money?" she repeated.

"I know you're busy with class office and likely as of now the musical, but my next door neighbour asked me if I happened to know any bright students who might want to tutor their son."

"Tutoring? For what?"

"Math mainly, sixth grade he is. He's struggling quite a bit."

"I don't think I would even know how to tutor someone," Gabriella said. "I mean… yeah I'm good at math but I just do it. I don't think about how I know it, it just happens."

"That's garbage. You tutor me all the time," Troy exclaimed.

"But that's different. We're talking about a child here."

"Where the math is a whole lot simpler."

Mr Davis couldn't help but smile. He held out a business card. "Here's their phone number. Have a think about it. It would just be a few hours a week, at a time negotiable for you. You can always agree to do it for a month and if you feel as though you're not doing a good job, tell them and they'll be fine about it."

Gabriella accepted the outstretched card in his hand. "Okay I will think about it. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Good luck with the audition. Let me know how it goes in class tomorrow."

"Will do."

* * *

Final period arrived quickly. Gabriella's nerves had been building throughout the day. She hid them well from the people around her, but Troy saw through the guise. The moment that they broke into pairs in drama class to work on a scene, Troy pulled his girlfriend into the back corner.

"Talk to me," he said softly.

"I'm scared. I don't know if I can do this," she confessed.

"You dazzled at the talent show."

"I was thinking more about you than the crowd. Besides, I didn't have TIME to think about it. There were like two hours between Taylor and Kelsi rocking up and shoving this new song at me and being pushed on stage."

"Try being given the new song about a half hour before going on stage," Troy said wryly.

"Okay you win."

"And here you are, all rehearsed. You'll shine."

"I just... I wish you were gonna be there. I understand that you're not... but I still wish you were gonna be there."

* * *

Basketball practice began promptly at 3:30; with a game on the outdoor court playing with the JV team. For the JV team it was a great experience, playing against and with better players. For the Varsity Wildcats however, it was slightly less beneficial. They needed to be learning to play together as a team, not playing with more new people.

And it didn't help that Troy's mind was far from the game. He kept glancing at his watch - an action which was not lost on his team mates, and particularly not on his three best friends. They knew very well from Ryan, Kelsi, Gabriella and Martha's ramblings all day that the open call for general singers and dancers was being held until 4:15; with auditions for leads beginning at 4:30. Chad was a man with a plan; a plan he'd cleared with the rest of the team - behind Troy's back of course.

At 4:20, 40 minutes before practice was due to end, Chad called a time out.

"Coach, you need to bring Matty on. Troy has to go."

Coach Bolton folded his arms over his chest. "Excuse me?"

Troy's position imitated his fathers. "Yeah, excuse me?"

"We are kicking you out," Zeke declared.

"Huh?"

"Dude, we know you want to audition," Chad said.

"And we will drag you over there kicking and screaming if we have to," Jason chimed in.

Jack exhaled. "Okay, you four, get over here. Matty, Jim, Pablo, Xavier - you're on. Keep playing."

Jack led the four boys to the side. "What the hell is going on?"

"Guys, seriously, this is stupid. I made my decision about the musical, I'm the one who decided not to audition," Troy protested.

"You made the wrong decision," Chad said bluntly. "You didn't make it for you."

"No I didn't. I made it for the team."

"You heard Evans. He promised you that there would be no interference with basketball. Just hold him to it," Jason said.

"Yeah but..."

"Troy. If you can look me in the eye and say, 'Chad, we've been like brothers for over ten years and I'm telling you I don't wanna do this' then I will accept it."

Troy sighed. "Course I wanna do it but there are lots of things I want to be doing, like surfing in Hawaii, but you know what, I'm not doing that am I?"

"But this is something you can do," Zeke said quietly.

"You're the one who gave the speech on Friday about making the most of your opportunities, about following your dreams," Chad said.

The truth was that Troy knew all along he wanted to be at the auditions. The moment he realised what was going on, what his friends were doing, he knew that they were right. He knew that he would regret it if he didn't audition.

He glanced at his father. Jack Bolton was standing back, arms folded, studying Troy intently.

"You miss ONE practice..." Jack warned.

Troy nodded. "Understood."

"Now get the hell out of here," Chad exclaimed, pointing toward the door.

With the reassurance of both his team and his dad - Troy piss bolted. He went via the locker room only to grab his bag with the script, and sprinted across the school. Auditions were being held in the small lecture theatre which was normally used for decathlons and debates and other similar academic events. The problem with this room was that the door was at the front and there was no way to just slip in undetected. Troy could hear that the official auditions hadn't started, that Miss Darbus was still in the process of outlining proceedings for the afternoon.

"And then finally, we have just two sign ups for the role of Mike..."

"Three. There's three."

Eyes swivelled from Darbus over to the doorway, where the basketball captain was standing. Kelsi's cry of "YES!" was audible throughout the room. Troy caught Gabriella's eye; she was sitting in the middle of the room with some of the girls from the drama club. Her smile said it all. He nodded slightly, winking.

"Mr Bolton. Yet another dramatic and tardy entrance from you into my auditions. The least I can say is that you are consistent."

"I umm... had a prior engagement."

"Yes. I see. Glad to see you dressed up for the occasion."

Troy was still in his red and white basketball uniform, he hadn't even thrown his jacket over the top yet. He folded his arms over his chest.

"Am I too late to sign up?"

Miss Darbus pursed her lips. Although she would not admit it out loud to anybody - she had been highly disappointed when Troy Bolton's name had NOT appeared on the sign up list. "See Mr Evans at the back. There is a form you need to fill out."

Troy's face broke into a smile, and he took the stairs two at a time to slide in next to Ryan. He handed Troy a form.

"Welcome," he said quietly. "Heard you might still be here yet."

"Chad warned you?"

"Yeah."

Troy proceeded to fill out the form. It requested information about previous experience and appearances; and then the all important - when are you available to rehearse? There was a timetable dividing the week into hourly slots. Troy filled this section out meticulously. Meanwhile, Miss Darbus was finishing her speech about the grandeur of the spirit of theatre and fighting against all odds... and proceeded to outline the audition process for the 6 leads.

"Auditionees will be required to demonstrate skill in three key areas..."

"Who's my competition?" Troy whispered.

Ryan shuffled through his paperwork, handing Troy two of the application forms. Alan Granger was a serial auditionee; a theatre enthusiast who could tell you anything you wanted to know about any Broadway musical - with absolutely no skill for acting, singing or dancing. The other form was that of someone Troy didn't know, Theodore Gallagher. He had outlined experience in a whole series of musicals. Troy pointed to the form, raising his eyebrows at Ryan. In reply he gestured down a few rows.

"He's new."

There was a stark difference in the availability Troy was able to provide and the open ended availability of Theodore. Troy shrugged. What could he do? His life was his life. He was lucky to be here at all.

Auditions were divided into three segments - dancing, acting and singing. The dancing part was taking place first; where auditionees would learn some basic choreography from the dance coach and then be required to perform in rows. As everyone scurried to the front; Troy detoured via Kelsi.

"Do you have the demo of the audition song on your Ipod?" he hissed.

Kelsi nodded, fishing her Ipod from her pocket and finding the song for him. "It's from about 40 seconds to 120 seconds that you should learn. And do it rockier than Ryan's version."

Troy blinked. He was more worried about singing in tune and remembering lyrics.

"Okay. I'll... try."

Troy slipped the Ipod into his pocket then scurried over, taking his place behind the dance teacher beside Gabriella.

"Why... how..."

"The guys kicked me out of practice. Told me they knew I wanted to audition and didn't care as long as Ryan was right and it would work around my basketball."

"Your dad?"

"Seemed okay. But more or less threatened bodily harm if I miss a single practice."

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you're here."

Troy smiled. "Me too."

"Okay everybody! Places!"

Let the auditions begin.

* * *

The dance segment went more or less as would be expected. Ryan and Sharpay shone; they'd danced before they'd walked and the years of training paid off in these types of scenarios. The majority of the pack were somewhat average, the girls better than the boys. The surprise in Twinkle Towne preparations the year before had been Troy's natural dance ability which one could attribute to years of perfecting his footwork and balance for the purposes of basketball. He had his own style though, a style which worked well in the edgy, rock and roll character of Mike. Gabriella managed to keep up and perform at about the same level as the other two girls contesting for the role of Nina which was all she could ask for.

The surprise packet of the afternoon was going to be Theodore, whose resume spoke volumes and his abilities were evident from his very first flourishing hand gesture. His style was more alike that of Ryan's, with classical and theatre training. His showy Broadway movements were exactly what impressed the ever flamboyant Miss Darbus.

They moved on to the singing auditions – which Troy was most worried about, having a severe lack of preparation. Kelsi, in her swift thinking, shuffled the audition parts around, with the order being Esmeralda, Nate, Lily, Cameron, Nina and last but not least Mike. Giving Troy a good fifteen minutes scurrying out of the lecture theatre and into a nearby empty classroom to practice a little. Ryan texted him just as the girls auditioning for Nina were preparing to go on. No amount of need to practice would stop him from being there for Gabriella.

Gabriella was clearly the stand out. For a girl with no professional training, she had a natural ability which bewildered all of those who had dedicated years towards taking lessons from a professional voice coach. Not only did she have a natural ability to sing, but she had a natural ability to deliver the message of the song, emotionally. Of course it helped that the audition piece was a cute love ballad and she felt every lyric very whole heartedly.

Alan was first to audition – and was quickly booted off stage after just half of the chorus.

"Thank you Alan," Miss Darbus said. She admired his passion for the theatre but could only hope that he would realise there were opportunities to pursue theatre related roles that weren't on stage.

Then came on Theodore. He'd changed costumes from the dance audition. The Mike audition piece was a somewhat bluesy rock tune, serenading the young Nina who was torn between her obligation to Nate and her love for Mike. There was nothing wrong with Theodore's voice, in fact he was an outstanding singer with phenomenal stage presence. But Kelsi couldn't help but cringe. It just wasn't Mike.

"And our final auditionee for this segment is Troy Bolton. Mr Bolton?"

Troy stepped up to the front, feeling somewhat nervous. It was like a repeat of the talent show, singing a song that he really didn't know all that well. Luckily the lyrics were relatively simple and he had glanced over at them a few times in the lead up. His version was a whole lot more simplistic than the flamboyant Theodore. His version was real. It was about Mike loving Nina, not about Theodore trying to impress everyone with his talents. The moment he opened his mouth and sang the very first note, Kelsi was smiling. She knew that Troy was meant to do this.

* * *

Meanwhile over by the gym, basketball practice had come to an end and the boys were heading from the outdoor court into the locker room. Coach Bolton touched Chad by the arm as he passed.

"Danforth? A word?"

Chad nodded, remaining behind and waiting until the boys had all passed.

"I hope you knew what you were doing. I wish you'd let me in on your plan."

"I do know what I was doing," Chad said firmly.

Coach Bolton's lips were somewhat tight.

"Jack?"

When Chad and Troy were growing up, they had been inseparable. The lack of a solid father figure in his own life meant that Chad had somewhat adopted Jack Bolton as a surrogate father figure. Not only did Chad and Troy go back over ten years; but so too did Chad and Jack. In that moment, Chad wasn't talking to his basketball coach. He was talking to Jack, his best friend's dad.

"Chad."

"Troy plays best when he's happy. And... I know you and I still find it a bit weird but this shit makes him happy. So... we should go with that."

Jack sighed. "You're right."

"I know I'm right."

* * *

The final segment of the afternoon was the acting segment. One of Ryan's contributions to the audition process was to suggest that given the nature of the script, that auditions run individually; that people be assessed according to their individual abilities rather than upon their partners. There were a series of scenes being used for the acting auditions; interchanging the pairs of people who were playing across from one another. Ryan and Sharpay shone when performing as Nate and Esmeralda across from one another; the audition scene was emotional and the characters were melodramatic which played right into the twins hands. There were a handful of outstanding juniors auditioning for the roles of Lily and Cameron – pleasing Miss Darbus, meaning that the drama club was in good stead for the upcoming year. One of the audition scenes was a Nina and Nate scene which Ryan and Gabriella had rehearsed over and over and over – with their hard work paying off, a smattering of applause even from their competitors for the roles.

And finally, there was the Nina and Mike scene. The other girls auditioning for Nina were competent but lacked the spark and the emotion. Combinations run with Alan were cut off almost immediately. With the final combination of the afternoon being Troy and Gabriella in the role of Mike and Nina.

Not once had they been through the scene. Gabriella had wanted to rehearse the scene but had instead asked Ryan to play Mike across from her in preparation. Throughout the whole lead up, she had known that Troy was torn as to whether to audition and didn't want to pressure him. Nevertheless, the performance that Troy and Gabriella produced was proof that rehearsal was not a prerequisite to outstanding performances. Instead, natural ability, stage presence and chemistry along was enough to bring the characters to life.

There was not only a smattering of applause but there was a standing ovation.

In that moment, Troy was so incredibly grateful to Chad Danforth for kicking him out of practice.

This was where he wanted to be.

* * *

It took a half hour for Troy's gratitude towards Chad to fade away.

"Fucking Danforth, this is all his fucking fault," Troy grumbled.

A half hour later, Miss Darbus and her selection panel had conferred and already made their announcement. Five characters had been clear cut. The castings for Esmeralda, Nate and Nina went to Sharpay, Ryan and Gabriella respectively. Lily and Cameron were each cast by juniors who were members of the drama club. The other part - was undecided.

"This is so ridiculous. Clearly Troy was the better choice. Very very very clearly," Kelsi said, evidently upset. She had been in on the selection panel meeting and fought for Troy her very hardest. "I swear, the only reason she wants a call back is to prolong the drama. We all know that Troy will get the part."

"Theodore was good though," Ryan pointed out. "I guess… she feels it's only fair."

"But Troy is better for this part. It's like with Twinkle Towne. It wasn't that you and Sharpay couldn't sing or dance or act. It was that they weren't right for the parts."

"So why the call back?" Gabriella asked.

"Miss Darbus thinks it's unfair to not give Theodore the chance to modify his style of performance, now knowing what the style of the opposite lead is."

Suddenly, Troy felt a sense of panic set in. "I don't have TIME to prepare for a call back!"

"It's not until Monday though," Ryan said calmly. "Even if you just spent all of Sunday preparing."

"And we will help you," Kelsi added. "You HAVE to get this part."

The discussion was interrupted by the approaching Theodore. Troy couldn't help but look at his competitor somewhat warily, arms folded across his chest defensively.

"Hello there all, I just wanted to introduce myself to those of you I have not already had the pleasure of meeting. My name is Theodore Gallagher the Third and I am very much so looking forward to a great contest with you next Monday, Mr Bolton."

Theodore held out his hand. Troy took it - rather purposefully squeezing the scrawny boys clammy hand harder than necessary. "It's Troy. Mr Bolton is my dad."

"Right you are then. Gabriella is it?" he said, turning to Gabriella. "Echante." He kissed the back of her hand. Gabriella's eyes were boggling; and as Theodore turned away to leave she wiped her hand on her skirt.

Gabriella whimpered. "I don't want to act across from him! Imagine, hours of rehearsals alone with him."

Troy was searching through his backpack, and pulled out a notebook and a pen. He proceeded to scribble something.

"What's that?" Kelsi asked.

Troy tore the paper out of the book, and handed it to Kelsi and Ryan. "This is my life. Tell me where you want me and when. Just make sure I get six hours sleep. That kid is NOT getting this part."

* * *


	22. Chapter 22

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

* * *

**Chapter 22**

First thing on Tuesday morning, Ryan and Kelsi presented Troy with a rehearsal schedule. Troy had spent the prior evening doing absolutely nothing that was directly productive. He beat his top score for several PlayStation games, he updated his Facebook, he downloaded a couple of new albums and listened to music. He was anticipating that between the first game of the season, the call back and the pesky thing called school, his schedule would be so jam packed that he wouldn't have time for a single moment to himself. So he was taking advantage of the freedom while he could. However as he went over the lax rehearsal schedule they had placed in his hands, he was both puzzled and pleasantly surprised.

"We've been nice, haven't we?" Kelsi commented.

"Uh... yeah. I'm kinda curious as to why. You want me to get this part, don't you?"

"You were better. This is all bureaucracy. There's no point in you killing yourself when in reality, a bit of a polish up is all that is needed," Ryan said.

"And choreographing a dance," Troy reminded them.

"Yeah that's easy. And you pick up dancing quickly," Ryan pointed out.

Troy glanced around wildly, in search of... pretty much anyone within earshot. "Dude, don't say that too loud!"

"The weekend is pretty hectic but we know that your first game of the season is the priority and you'll be crazy with training throughout the week," Kelsi said.

"No no, this is good. This is awesome. You guys rock. There's probably more time available if you're thinking it's not going well."

Gabriella, who was by Troy's side, peered at the schedule. She searched through her satchel, producing her pencil case and then fishing about within to pull out a purple gel pen. She then added in on Thursday afternoon before basketball practice - _Gabriella time xo_. She circled it with a love heart. Troy smirked coyly, taking the pen from her and adding a double bold underline.

"Yeah, yeah we get it," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "I left it free for a reason. You put on your schedule last night that Thursdays were out."

"So tonight after practice is dance choreography at your house? Do you need me to bring anything?" Troy asked.

"Nope. Just yourself. And dress for the occasion. I know you tough athletes think that dancing is for pansies but…"

"Dude, I was there at the Twinkle Towne rehearsals last year, remember? This shit can be gruelling, I know."

"Can I come?" Gabriella asked brightly.

"No," Ryan said firmly. "You will be a distraction."

She pouted, but didn't argue.

"Hey Ryan? Are you gonna get in trouble for helping me out? You know, as assistant director, shouldn't you kinda be impartial?" Troy enquired, his concern genuine.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Pfft. I don't care. This part belongs to you. Justice will be served. Besides, it is in the best interest of the show that we get you prepared now. This will be one less piece of choreography we have to do later, one less song that needs to be polished."

* * *

Just as Troy and Gabriella had started out the year establishing somewhat of a routine with spending Thursday afternoons together; Taylor and Chad had established a Tuesday ritual. There had never been a guise of this time being used to study. Tuesday had been selected very specifically. Taylor's mom had yoga; and then her book club. Taylor's older sister Tanesha - who often flitted between her college dorm and the family home - was always at work on Tuesdays. Guaranteeing hours of privacy.

"Hey Chad? So uh... my mom's book club is meeting at our house tonight. But that's not til 7 so we've got a few hours to ourselves."

Chad hesitated. He sensed the hopefullness in Taylor's tone. He knew that she really wanted alone time - and this time, it wasn't just for reasons of fooling around. She had picked up on his weirdness. Once upon a time, life has been relatively simple. School, sport, hanging with the boys, flirting with the girls. Those days were over. Even the things in life that should have remained simple were actually filled with complications.

Take Taylor. He liked her. She liked him. FINALLY they'd started dating, finally they were establishing a real relationship. However things were just as complicated as ever, with insecurities raging high on the list of issues. Something had been grating at Chad. The offhanded comment from Taylor to Ryan -

_I've been the queen of open mindedness... Look at me, I'm dating Chad Danforth for crying out loud._

She hadn't even realised that it had cut him. It had thrown him into a spin, hitting a nerve that he didn't know existed. He wasn't angry at her, he was certain that the comment hadn't been made with the intention of hitting a nerve. And certainly there was an element of truth to the fact that it had required both of them opening their minds to forge a friendship in the first place. But it was the present tense in her tone. The implication that ongoing open mindedness was required to date him. And it all caused Chad to question - what was it about him that

"Uh... I kinda need to be at home this afternoon. Mom asked me if I'd be round at home with my little sister and make sure she does her homework. Apparently the school called and says she hasn't been doing it or something."

"Oh... that's fair enough. Did you want me to come over, we can study together?"

"I do need to study but I think it's stuff I need to do on my own. You can be rather distracting, woman," Chad smirked.

Taylor sensed that he had to force the lightness in his tone. "Well... you can call me if you need help or... or if you're bored and just wanna talk."

He smiled at her reassuringly. "Absolutely. I would anticipate a call for one reason or the other or possibly both."

* * *

Troy felt rather uncomfortable as he drove towards Ryan's house. He'd been in the Evans mansion a few times now - most recently when he, Chad and Taylor had taken Sharpay home on the day of the fire - but this would be his first time there without the company of at least a few of his friends. Somehow, driving up in his beaten up truck and wearing clothes appropriate for an evening of dance training - he felt out of place. Of course, there was the additional notion of spending an entire evening with just Ryan himself. In the years upon years that he had known the Evans twins, Troy could not recall a time, ever, when it had been just he and Ryan in a room. Nevertheless, Troy held his head high, announcing himself at the gate and being allowed in immediately.

Ryan too was well aware of the absurdity of the situation; he and Troy alone in any social situation was a bizarre concept. Let alone working collaboratively to prepare Troy for the callback. But Ryan had learnt over the past few months that life had a crazy way of throwing random curve balls at you and all you could do was cope with the situation as best as you can. Which for Ryan was to throw himself into it.

Ryan was like the super host. He made sure he answered the door himself, a principle he followed whenever any of the Wildcats had come over. He never wanted his friends to face the uncomfortable vibe given by dealing with some member of household staff. He'd never been one to take advantage of the staff, and yet very much so made himself comfortable within his own home. He and Sharpay had a room downstairs specifically for dance purposes; with a wooden floor - for tap dancing; a barre; mirrors along the walls; a stereo system; and even mats for the odd occasion they were giving acrobatics or a new ballroom lift a try. He collected both himself and Troy a sports drink from the fridge and led him into the room. For the purposes of the audition, Darbus had requested that each of the boys prepare a 64 beat dance which would take place within one of the musical numbers. Ryan had been working with Kelsi's script for a few months - he had recorded the male parts within the demo for her; and since then knew he wanted to work behind the scenes, particularly assisting with dance choreography. So he was more than happy to help Troy out with his part of his preparation.

The aim for the evening was to not only choreograph the whole dance but to ensure that Troy was able to retain the steps within his mind. Often this was the problem of the novice dancer; they would be fine when copying their instructor but take the other person away and they would be left standing still, staring into the mirror dumbfounded and clueless as to what move came next. Ryan had observed Troy throughout Twinkle Towne rehearsals the previous year; and knew that he was actually not bad at all. This carried through, and Troy actually had a few good ideas himself as to what moves might work well. Within an hour, 32 beats were choreographed and practiced.

"Awesome... but... I think we need something else there at the end," Ryan mused.

"Try a bit of an Elvis hip thrust," a voice came from the doorway.

The boys looked up to see Sharpay standing there.

"A hip thrust?" Troy asked dubiously.

"Yeah. Like... like this."

She demonstrated. Troy shrugged, dancing the prior 8 beats and then adding in the hip thrust.

"That works!" Ryan exclaimed.

Sharpay smiled smugly. "Of course it does."

She held out a couple of drinks. "I was asked to bring these in."

Troy accepted the bottle gratefully, he'd finished his prior bottle just minutes earlier so she'd arrived in perfect timing. Ryan's eyes were boggling. His sister actually AGREED to deliver drinks to them?

"Thanks," he said cheerfully.

"Whatever."

Sharpay turned to leave.

"Hey Sharpay?" Troy said.

"What?"

"Do you wanna stay help?"

She paused, contemplating. "Nothing better to do I suppose."

* * *

"It always makes me feel somewhat warm and bubbly inside when I can confer my homework responses with a genius and have the exact same answers," Taylor said.

Gabriella rolled her eyes - which although Taylor couldn't see over the phone, she could imagine her friend doing. "Don't call me that."

"Why not? I bet you are one."

"I am Gabriella. I don't like being labelled as anything other than Gabriella."

"If you'd just take the test like Mr Davis said you should..."

"Taylor, you're like a broken record."

"Isn't there a part of you that really wants to know? To be told, congratulations, you have a score of…" Taylor asked.

"No, I spent years of my childhood being poked and prodded to see why it was that a seven year old could perform such mathematical equations in her head. I feel no need to be poked and prodded further."

"You are bored out of your skull with the stuff they teach us as East High. Having the test done might allow you to push them to give you something more."

"I don't need a school to learn more if I feel the need to learn more. I started teaching myself Japanese for fun."

"Started teaching yourself Japanese? For fun?" Taylor said incredulously.

"Yup," Gabriella said brightly.

"Don't tell Troy that. He might think you're a freak."

"I don't hide myself from Troy, he knows very well who I am."

"Does Troy know that you and I are going to Boston with your mom in a few weeks to go to the Harvard open day?"

Gabriella was playing with her two stuffed animals that she owned courtesy of Troy; the phone resting between her shoulder and her ear. She paused, dropping the animals. "Well... no."

"Interesting."

"Does Chad know we're going?" she countered.

"Uh... okay touché."

"I'll tell him. It's just been crazy, you know, with the first game of the season and... stuff."

"Meaning you spend more time with your hand down his underwear than talking these days," Taylor said coyly.

"Taylor!"

"It's true isn't it?"

"It is not! My hand is not down his underwear. He just takes off his underwear."

The girls erupted into giggles.

"Only you and I could go from talking about colleges to foreplay in one beat," Taylor mused.

"Hence why you and I are friends."

"Have you looked at any of the college applications?"

"Not really," Gabriella confessed. "I always thought I'd be the most organised person with it all but it just hasn't gone that way. The guidance counsellor keeps telling me I should get my ass in gear, given that a lot of the Ivy deadlines are sooner, especially for early acceptances. I just... kinda don't want to think about it yet."

"Because of Troy?"

Gabriella nodded. "Because of Troy. I don't think he has thought seriously about any of it, beyond the U of A scholarship. And the truth is that I haven't thought about it seriously, other than to have a really giant shortlist of colleges which I've had for years anyway."

"Same. I never thought that when it came down to the pointy end of the stick that anything other than myself would influence these decisions but… life has a funny way of changing when you never expect it to."

"I'm still going to make the decision for me," Gabriella said, surprised with Taylor's remark. "I just… am putting off making that decision because of Troy."

"So… if and when Troy gets offered the full U of A scholarship…"

"If Troy is gonna stay in Albuquerque, there's no way we're going to be at the same college or even the same state," Gabriella said quietly. "I hate saying it out loud but it's true and I am sure that he knows me well enough to know that. And it's scary talking about it because I love him so much and need him in my life."

"Which brings us back to the place where you haven't even begun looking at applications."

"Precisely."

Gabriella felt a sudden need to change the subject. It wasn't even a topic she liked thinking about. After years of yearning to get out of high school; of arguing with her mom to allow her to be pushed through high school at an accelerated rate to get her into college early – suddenly, she felt very comfortable within that bubble and didn't want to leave.

"How's Chad?" Gabriella asked.

Taylor knew that it was a diversionary tactic but wanted to talk about him anyway, so she was welcome for the sudden change in topic.

"He's… still weird."

"Like on Friday night weird?"

"Yeah. I just… it's not that something is wrong, that he's being rude to me or upset. I just… something isn't right."

"And you think it's you?" Gabriella put out there gently.

"Well that's where my brain goes to. I mean on Friday, Troy didn't take me seriously which makes me think that Chad hasn't been that different around him."

"It's just girlfriend paranoia which is understandable and I believe compulsory to have these freak outs because they seem to happen regardless of what you do."

"We don't know that. Not all relationships work out. The fact is that some people get into a relationship and they will break up. I'm well aware of that."

"You need to talk to him."

"I know but…"

"Talk to him Taylor. Trust me."

* * *

Troy was exhausted. Ryan and Sharpay were officially evil. He'd though they were evil six months ago. But now his reasons had changed. They were slave drivers. He thought that with his surprising ability to dance and recall choreography that he would get an early reprieve. Instead, they kept going over and over and over and over the movements, refining their choreography and perfecting his technique. And then going over and over and over and over and over the movements some more.

"Guys I'm about to collapse. Can we please take a break?" Troy begged.

Never in his life did Troy expect that the sudden presence of Mr Evans would excite him. The older man opened the door, poking his head in.

"Troy! Thought I heard your voice in there."

"Hi Mr Evans," Troy greeted him.

Since summer vacation, Troy had been exposed to Mr Evans on more than one occaision; courtesy of Troy's continued job at Lava Springs. He wouldn't describe his relationship with the man as being close, but more so a polite friendliness. As the owner of Lava Springs, essentially Mr Evans held Troy's part time job within his hands.

"I hear you've got callbacks for the fall musical next week."

Troy nodded. "That's what I'm here for, Ryan and Sharpay are helping me prepare."

"Big game this Friday huh? You mustn't have a moment spare."

"Yeah it's pretty hectic. Between training, study and now the musical."

"Trust you to be doing a million things at once. Here's a man who understands the importance of versatility. Ryan here, he quit baseball when he was 13 just so he could take another dance class."

"It was the advanced class... it was an honour to be invited to join at that age," Ryan said, somewhat defensively.

Mr Evans practically ignored his son, and also missed the look of dejection on Ryan's face. "Troy, you make sure you let me know if you need a Saturday off work, even if it's just so you can have some time for yourself. There's a few other guys at the club that Fulton can call in if necessary."

"I'm all good at the moment but I'll keep the offer in mind," Troy assured him.

"Excellent. Well, don't stay up too late rehearsing. With the big game, you'll need to keep your energy up."

* * *

Thursday's 'Gabriella time' came around surprisingly quickly. Even though the schedule Ryan and Kelsi had outlined was more flexible than Troy had anticipated, of course Troy being Troy dedicated every spare moment to some form of preparation or the other. Whether it be preparation for Friday's match in the form of perfecting his jump shot or practicing free throws; or looking ahead to the following weeks call back audition and going over the dance, song or script.

Practice at the Redhawks gym was scheduled to begin at 4, so just like the week before this left the couple with a few hours to themselves. When he practically dragged her away from her locker and into his truck, it wasn't only his libido driving him. It was the need to escape.

"Last practice for the big game this afternoon, hey?" It was a phrase he had heard a variation of from at least a dozen people throughout the day; random people he hadn't realised were aware of the specifics of the basketball teams situation.

More than once, Gabriella had witnessed his tight smile; heard his forced cheerful reply of, "That's right, should be a good one! You coming to the game? Awesome, see you there!"

"Think you'll ever be able to go through your life without everyone knowing all of your business?" she asked quietly, rubbing his leg comfortingly as they drove to her house.

"Well if the NBA dream comes true, probably not," he said wryly.

There was no better escape from the pressure and craziness than into Gabriella's eagerly awaiting arms. Libidos were running high, kisses had been lustful and insistent since Monday. With the weekend 'break' fuelling their desire for one another, Troy suddenly found himself driving a whole lot faster than legally acceptable. And there was no part of Gabriella that was going to protest.

He pulled up outside her house, a screech of the tyres as he applied the brakes a little later and faster than usual. He practically sprinted from his side of the truck to hers, holding out his hand to assist her to step down to the ground. In that moment, two sets of thoughts were simultaneously in tune, anticipating the sensations which lay ahead in the upcoming hours. The joined hands were enough to initiate sparks. He captured her tiny waist within his hands pulling her into him. Lips fused together in a soft kiss, initiating a series of kisses which ascended in eagerness. With her right hand lightly toying with the hairs on the back of his neck, Gabriella backed him up the driveway in the direction of the front door. Her left hand somehow produced her house keys just as they reached the door step. Troy crashed into the door, but didn't care in the slightest. He merely plunged his tongue even further into the depths and crevasses of Gabriella's mouth. She was attempting to unlock the door but was struggling; with not only the distraction of Troy's lips upon hers, but also his growing bulge pressing up against her thigh.

She pulled away, just for long enough to insert the key into the hole and turn it, the pair practically falling into the house. Troy attacked her lips once more, in the process causing her to stumble backwards, his hand on the back of her head taking the blow against the wooden door. Gabriella felt a chill of cold against her stomach as the hem of her Dr. Seuss 'I Like To Eat Cake' tee was being pried in a northward direction. However the chill was soon replaced by the warmth of his hand grazing over her taut stomach and cupping her breast, squeezing the perfect handful. Gabriella's fingers raked through his hair, and she somehow employed the self discipline to pull herself away.

"Upstairs…" she gasped insistently.

Troy grinned. "I love how efficient you are."

She grabbed his hand, pulling him up the staircase and down the hall into her bedroom. It was a room that was quickly becoming like a second home to Troy. He couldn't help but smile at her outfit she had laid out for tomorrow, all red and white.

"I can see you're ready for the big game," he commented.

Gabriella brought her index finger to his lips, silencing him. "Hush. This is a no stress zone. No talk of the game allowed."

In that moment, blue and brown gazes connected, a sudden calm filling the room.

"Okay," he agreed, more than willingly.

The urgency of the moment was still felt, however in addition there was a sense of tenderness. Her warm lips kissed him softly, with hands running down his back and capturing the hem of his polo shirt, to pull it from his body. Her kisses departed from his lips and were now trailing all over his neck and along his collarbone, nipping gently. Her head dipped southward, her tongue leaving a trail over his pecs and flicking at his nipples. A guttural moan escaped from his lips. Her hands were trailing over his back, clutching at his shoulders.

"You're all tense," she murmured. "You need a massage."

Troy's hands were once again toying with the hem of Gabriella's tee. He brought his left hand to her chin, nudging her to lift her head to allow him to remove the constrictive item and toss it to the floor.

"Massage would be one way to relieve tension," Troy remarked, pulling her in for a deep and probing kiss.

Hands were clawing at her bra clasp, finally prying it open and removing the barrier to his current affections. His mouth dropped, leaning over to lick and suckle at the swell of her breasts, breasts which he would never grow tired of the sight or feel or taste.

"You're so gorgeous," Troy murmured, before allowing his tongue to lightly trail over her right nipple, Gabriella now panting and gasping. Her hands were now fumbling with his belt, snapping it open and providing her with the access to undo his jeans and send them sliding down his legs, bunching around his knees.

"There are other ways to relieve tension, are there?" she enquired coyly, a hand cupping the very present bulge which was constrained by his black boxer briefs, fingers lightly running over his balls.

"Uh huh," Troy groaned.

Lips met in a leisurely kiss, hands enjoying the casual exploration of one another's body. However soon, Gabriella decided that she was through with toying with him, and proceeded to tug on his underwear by the waistband to reveal his throbbing length. He too was fumbling with her skirt, grasping the zipper on the side and pulling it down; allowing her skirt to drop to the floor. She stepped aside, kicking the skirt away slightly, just as Troy quickly completed the removal of his own clothing by stepping out of his jeans and underwear. Troy couldn't help but allow his eyes to wander around the body of his girlfriend; wearing only a scrap of royal blue lace. He suspected that even after he'd seen her like this a hundred times, he would still be transfixed.

"Tell me, do you save your fancy underwear for days when we might wind up doing this?" Troy murmured, a hand caressing her through the lace.

"Yup," Gabriella confessed, her breath hitching. She grasped at the head of his manhood, teasing ever so gently.

"I'll catch you unaware at school one day and get to see the cotton pairs with the flowers."

"How do you know what my gross underwear looks like?"

She gasped as a finger slipped beneath her panties, dipping inside of her; and instinctively grasped his length a little tighter, forming a fist and stroking slowly.

"Do I need to remind you that you are sexy in a potato sack? However you should learn that you can never leave a teenage boy unattended in a girl's bedroom."

"A part of me wants to be angry at you for snooping in my underwear drawer…" Gabriella moaned as Troy's index finger curled inside of her. "But somehow it is difficult to be angry at someone who is doing what you are doing right now."

"I bet you've snooped in my room."

"Okay. You got me."

"I did see your diary but I very respectfully didn't read it. Although I can imagine what it might have said. Dear diary… today Troy had his fingers up my…"

"Troy!" Gabriella gasped.

Her gasp was half in response to his lewd comment, half in response to the sudden entry of a second finger inside of her.

"It's true isn't it?"

"Wow you're in a dirty mood today," she remarked, her somewhat breathy voice giving away that she wasn't entirely displeased with this fact.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I find it strangely arousing."

She gently removed his hand from inside of her. "Leave me."

The fact was that since her first attempt a week earlier; she'd been craving to try again. She'd been almost disappointed on Friday when he had turned down her offer to provide him relief without any reciprocation. It was in her nature to work at mastering tasks. Like randomly learning a language. Or learning piano over summer. Now, it was the art of the blow job that she had intention of perfecting.

She guided him to lie down on her bed. Her hand was now lightly stroking the head of his penis; languid licks and sloppy kisses trailing down his chest; signalling just what it was she had intention of doing.

Of course Troy had little objection to this. He knew that he would get his hands on and in and all over her again.

"I love how boys have this snail trail," she murmured as she reached his belly button. "Marking a path. Like… Like Hansel and Gretel and the breadcrumbs."

And indeed, she was led to her desired destination. She could skip the moment of tentativeness; and she was now able to remove the wariness of just how to cope with the inability to breath through ones mouth. Instead, it was all about Troy in his glory and the ability she had to make him grunt and groan and pant and writhe in ecstasy. Her lips encased the head of his manhood, tongue swirling teasingly; before dropping down and allowing his length to slide slowly into her mouth, engulfing as much of him as she could, before drawing back. Troy was grunting and groaning and panting, his fingers raking through her hair. His eyes were closed firmly one moment, but then he fluttered his eyelids open.

It was like a classic porn movie moment. The gorgeous girl staring up at her partner; wide chocolate eyes boring straight into his; not breaking the rhythm of her bobbing head. His grunts and groans escalated, the gaze he gave in return was partly lustful – but mostly, it was adoring love. The stare wasn't broken, and it was all it took to bring Troy to his peak. His warning came only just barely in time, allowing her to pull away and requring just a handful of strokes to bring him to completion.

"Oh fuck… Gabi… Gabi…" he found himself chanting her name breathily; the shortened version compulsory because there were far too many syllables in the long version for him to get out within his current state.

Grabbing tissues to wipe away the evidence, Gabriella paused for a moment, before decisively leaving a tiny amount on her finger. She wriggled back around on the bed, lying on her side next to him. She waited until his eyes opened once more, waited until he was gazing at her adoringly. And it was at that moment as Troy's eyes were trained on her that she chose to somewhat tentatively bring her index finger to her mouth, sucking gently. He drew in a sharp breath, watching her face carefully.

"The verdict?"

"Not bad," she admitted, a coy smile.

"That was… really fucking hot," Troy declared, evidently still struggling to regain a regular breathing pattern.

She giggled. "Thank you, I aim to please."

"I really needed that…" Troy admitted. "If it wasn't by your doing it was going to be a massive wank session tonight."

"Isn't it interesting how relieving sexual tension can assist with relieving general life tension?" Gabriella mused.

"Do you know this from experience?" Troy asked casually.

She rolled her eyes. Gabriella was convinced that her boyfriend was obsessed with masturbation.

"You keep wanting me to talk about this," she said, blushing.

"It's hot, that's why," Troy said bluntly.

She giggled. "So are you feeling less tense now?"

"Does this look like the face of a man who is feeling stressed?"

"Good," Gabriella declared. "Mission accomplished."

"For which you will be rewarded," Troy murmured.

He leaned over, kissing her vigorously, hands caressing over her breasts with clear intent.

"Troy… there's not much time until you have to go to training," Gabriella protested.

"There's enough time. You already seem to be on your way," he said with a smirk, his index finger running along her moist panties to prove a point.

"Maybe…"

"If you'd let me try something new then it might be more efficient," he suggested somewhat lewdly, flicking his tongue at her neck to demonstrate his meaning.

"I am NOT having you do that for the first time in some panicked rush."

He looked into her eyes. "But if we weren't pressured for time, you'd let me?"

She paused. "Probably."

He was somehow already developing a semi at the mere notion that maybe she would let him. The look on her face as she contemplated the suggestion; her moment of mental imagery – was enough to kick him into gear. No time was wasted, going from minimal contact to his mouth on her breast, a finger flicking at her clit and two fingers working inside of her. Gabriella was overwhelmed by sensations, not sure where exactly she should focus. Her entire body was ablaze, her back arched, her toes curling.

It wasn't long before he had her at the point where she was so close that it was almost painful. And he chose that exact moment to retract the thrusting fingers; and remove pressure from her clit.

"WHAT are you doing?" Gabriella demanded, her annoyance evident. She literally felt herself aching, a throbbing down below.

He kissed her deeply, very casually exploring her folds but avoiding the places she wanted him to be feeling.

"Troy!" she gasped into his mouth.

He relented a little, his mouth dropping to her left breast which thus far had been receiving a lot less attention than the right. The dancing fingers casually returned to their target. She was writhing beneath him, clutching to his shoulders. He reentered his index and middle fingers, only requiring a few thrusts to have her shuddering and gasping, one wave hitting her followed by the next just moments later.

When she finally opened her eyes, Troy was propped up by his elbow beside her, bright blue eyes meeting chocolate brown.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing her gently.

"Love you too."

* * *

While Troy and Gabriella were preoccupied, Chad had made an excuse to Taylor that he needed to go home and study before practice. Which he did, technically. He NEEDED to study. Whether he would ACTUALLY study was yet to be determined.

He was surprised to see his mother sitting at the kitchen table, tear filled eyes, staring blankly at the wall.

"Ma?" Chad asked tentatively.

She looked up at Chad despondently. "David left us."

David was her live in boyfriend, the closest thing to a stepfather Chad had had since his own father had left years earlier. But father figure was hardly what David had been.

"Oh... ma..."

"I know you didn't like him but..."

"That doesn't matter. Are you okay?"

His mother's bottom lip trembled. Chad wasn't used to seeing his mother like this. Only once before had he seen her break down, and it wasn't something Chad wanted to see again. There was something uncomfortable about a child having to comfort a parent.

"No. No I'm not," she murmured.

"Can I... can I get you anything? Tea or..."

"No. I think I might just go lie down."

Chad watched helplessly as he watched his mother trail up the stairs, walking slowly, tenatively, as though she were an old lady incapable of moving any faster. He swallowed. Just what he needed, more melodrama. A part of him wanted to call Taylor straight away and tell her. Another part of him instinctively wanted to call Troy. But something just didn't feel right about talking to Taylor; and Troy was too wrapped up within his own world. It had surprised and annoyed Chad on Friday night when Troy hadn't pressed him. Normally, the guys would sense the difference between tired and there being something more going on.

Chad had a feeling that he was on his own for this one.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

Okay. This whole plot line with Chad is going to be built at an excruciatingly slow pace. I'm really excited about it actually because I have this new fondness for all of our secondary characters and therefore I want to develop them independently of the TxG relationship. There will be elements that are going to intersect, of course. Anyway, so I ask for your patience with this one. For people who have been around since Here With You and Play It My Way and you actually have a memory for specific details, yes, I have very very very briefly referenced 'Chad's parents' before, in the connotation that they are in fact together. The fact is that there are lots of little factual discrepencies like this throughout my verse (I don't like to admit to that ha); primarly because when I first started writing, I never realised I would take this verse as far (in terms of time) and as wide (in terms of characters and themes) as I now intend to and thus forth never contemplated what future plot lines I may want to open up. If this _really_ bothers you let me know and I'll go back and edit my old work so it's just 'Chad's mom and her boyfriend' or whatever.

I really have been so loving all of your reviews lately guys, I've had a lot of support and additionally a lot of thoughtful and analytical feedback. If you provide con cit or address something you don't understand; and do this using an anonymous review and don't want to leave your e-mail address in the public eye, can I suggest that you email me (Look at my user name, and I use gmail...) because I really really really love to discuss these finer points with people so that I can become a better author. I am directing this at someone in particular who I hope gets this...

On that note... Thoughts? Questions? Ponderings? Need anything clarified? Confused about anything? Feeling to need to have your very own Troy? My best friends arrived at my house today with a 'just coz' present, they bought me this pink HSM blanket with Troy and Gabriella on it and various random text including "I Love Troy"... this is my closest thing to my very own Troy.

-Dani xo


	23. Chapter 23

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**

* * *

****Chapter 23  
**

Game days always had a buzz about them. In particular, this applied to important games like play offs, finals, and rematches against formidable opponents. The first game of the year fell right into this category; with a rematch of the final from the year before; East High versus West High. The Wildcats came to school wearing their warm up gear; the cheerleaders were officially on duty for almost the whole day. Sometimes this worked well for Troy; as a way of building up his adrenaline. However often Troy would yearn for a calm and clear headspace. This particular game day was one of these days, with Troy experiencing a desire to escape from the chaos, the people wishing him well, the hype.

The reprieve Gabriella provided the prior afternoon had been very well received, however the stress relief was short lived. The moment he'd arrived at training Thursday afternoon, the pressure was back on. Coach Bolton's famous 'motivational' (read – pressuring) speeches didn't exactly help with this situation.

The result was Troy's self seclusion on Friday. He went about his morning classes – both with Gabriella – quietly, putting his head down and for once allowing the course content to surround him. When their third period spare came around, he softly informed Gabriella that he wanted some alone time, kissing her softly on the cheek. She didn't object to it at all, understanding entirely. Trig class just before lunch he had with Paula, who also had years of experience with Troy and his bubble of concentration that often formed on game days. The bubble of concentration extended through to lunch period, with Troy not even informing anyone of his whereabouts.

Gabriella knew where he was. Ten minutes into lunch period with no Troy having made an appearance, she excused herself from their table and purchased a sandwich and a can of energy drink from the cafeteria, heading in the direction that her beacon was guiding her.

Troy was lying down in the science club's rooftop garden, staring up at the clouds, head resting on his backpack. Despite listening to his Ipod at a decibel louder than recommended by medical professionals, he sensed Gabriella's arrival, and opened his eyes to see her watching over him with a slight smile upon her face. He pulled one ear out and turned the volume down, as he sat up.

"Was that Coldplay?" Gabriella queried.

He nodded. "Yup."

"I would have thought you'd be listening to Eye of the Tiger or something… peppy."

Troy smiled. "That's this afternoon, in the half hour before the game. Right now it's the calming, mood neutralising play list. If I get pumped up too early, I worry that the adrenaline will burn out."

"Ahh. I see." Gabriella gestured to the sandwich and drink she was carrying. "Umm... I won't stay if you wanna be alone. I just knew you didn't bring lunch with you today so I brought you this."

"I'm kinda not hungry," Troy confessed.

"I know you're not. But you'll thank me later when you're not feeling all weak just as you're about to run on court."

He knew that she was right, and gratefully accepted the sandwich from her.

"I'll see you in drama," she said, squeezing his shoulder.

Gabriella turned to walk back down the stairs, but Troy called after her.

"Wait, no. Stay," he said insistently, patting the floor beside him.

Gabriella studied him carefully, ensuring that his request was genuine and not fuelled by an obligatory desire. She then carefully crouched down to sit on the floor beside him. He peeled off his jacket to bunch up and provide her with a head rest beside his backpack. The two then laid down, now both staring up at the clouds. Troy had peeled open the wrapper on his sandwich and was taking small bites, chewing methodically. Meanwhile, Gabriella was conducting a mental debate as to whether she should just lie there with him in silence, initiate a distracting make out session, or attempt to have him talk about how he was feeling. Or a combination of the above techniques. Finally, the silence was unbearable and she had to say something.

"Do I sense that this is more than just regular prematch tension? It's hard for me to judge given that I haven't been around during regular basketball season before," she asked gently.

"It's more," he admitted.

Gabriella shuffled so that she was lying on her side, her arm bent and her head resting against the palm of her hand.

"Let me hazard a guess. You're stressed not only because it's the first big game of the year; but also because you feel like you've been distracted and so it'll be on you if things don't go well. Not to mention that you're nervous because this is the first time you've played a competitive game since your injury last year."

Troy stared at her in bewilderment. He hadn't vocalised any of the above concerns, and yet somehow, she managed to simply know it all.

"Wow. You're good. Can we add mind reading to your list of skills?" Troy remarked. "Because there could be some stuff you don't want to know that I think about."

Gabriella smiled, choosing to ignore his attempt to deflect from the seriousness and try to create a lighter atmosphere. Her hand fell upon his abs, rubbing gently over his heart.

"I love you," she said simply. "I can't... I don't have words to comfort you with any of this. I wish I did but I don't. It's all natural to be feeling like you are. All I can do is say that I love you and hope that's enough to make it even just the tiniest bit better."

Troy gazed into the eyes which bore into his so adoringly.

"More than just a tiny bit. A whole lot better."

* * *

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang were in the cafeteria. Taylor couldn't help but be rather miffed. She'd been dealing with Chad's weirdness for a week now, and today it just seemed to have quadrupled. Every time she tried to talk to him about it, he blew her off.

"I'm just a bit nervous Tay. I'm like this every game day, you'll soon learn."

Except that Chad forgot that Taylor wasn't completely unobservant. No, she hadn't really been friends with Chad during prior basketball seasons but she had been at the school and in his classes and observed his behaviour. It wasn't like him to withdraw. That was more so Troy's style. Chad was the one who went around chatting with the 'fans' to rev himself up, to build up his adrenaline.

Still, she plastered a smile on her face and said, "Okay if you're sure."

* * *

When the final bell of the day rang; the four senior Wildcats immediately leapt out of their seats in their drama classroom. They were well versed in the process of the away game. Straight to the parking lot where a bus was waiting to take exclusively the team, cheer squad and relevant members of faculty to the location of play. Within ten minutes, a couple of other school buses would arrive to transport students over to support the team.

Gabriella was so excited and nervous at the same time that she could hardly contain herself. Arrangements had already been made that she and Taylor were going to ride over to West High School with Ryan - with Martha driving herself and Kelsi over. Ryan was taking his time at his locker, Gabriella bouncing beside him. She'd been both to her own locker and to the bathroom, and here Ryan was, still sorting through his books. Sharpay was beside him at her own locker, examining her reflection and reapplying her lip gloss.

"Okay we're off to the game," Ryan said cheerfully to his sister, noting Gabriella's silent plea to hurry up.

Gabriella, in a sudden moment of insanity, turned to the blonde. "Sharpay? Did you... did you wanna come with us?"

Sharpay stared at her, almost in disbelief. "Uh... I don't think so. I have to…"

In that exact moment, Sharpay couldn't think of a single thing that she actually HAD to do that afternoon.

"Oh come on! It'll be fun!" Ryan said. "What else are you gonna do?"

She let out a sigh. "Well I suppose I've got nothing better to do."

"Excellent!"

And so much to her own surprise, Sharpay was following her brother and Gabriella to meet Taylor. Taylor's shock at the sight of Sharpay in tow was well hidden, and she simply didn't question it. Sharpay didn't call shotgun, but it was simply a given that the front of the car was going to be her place. Which worked well for Taylor and Gabriella. As they approached West High School, Gabriella suddenly grasped onto Taylor's hand.

"I don't know if I want to vomit or scream," she whispered. "I never thought I'd feel this way about a basketball game."

Taylor squeezed her hand back comfortingly. "I know how you feel."

Martha and Kelsi had already arrived and saved the immediate area around them. West High School students were already overflowing in their half of the gym. The East High buses had yet to arrive. Gabriella sat down between Taylor and Ryan, and glanced around the room. She spotted Troy's mom arriving and taking a seat next to another parental type.

"Do any of you guys know who that is with Mrs Bolton? And don't all look at once."

"That's Mrs Cross. Jason's mom," Kelsi informed her.

"Oh okay."

Gabriella excused herself, figuring it was the polite thing to go and say hello.

"Hi Mrs Bolton!" she said brightly.

"Now what have I been telling you over and over again?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Lucy..." she corrected herself.

"Much better. Excited about the game?"

Gabriella's broad grin said it all. "Excited and yet want to be sick all at the same time."

Lucille laughed gently. "This is Alana Cross, Jason's mother. Alana, Gabriella Montez."

"Oh! You're the one who helped Jason finish off his script, aren't you?"

"Sort of, yes."

"That was really a lovely thing for you to do. He's been working on it and talking about this first movie of his for so long. Finally I think he has the confidence to take it that next step and is planning to film it shortly."

"I think over Thanksgiving break was his plan. And it was no trouble at all, really. Anything to help out a friend."

"Gabriella!" a voice sounded from across the gym.

"Sounds like you're wanted honey. Go on," Lucille urged. "Enjoy the game!"

* * *

In the away team locker room, the Wildcats were spread out across the room as they each went about their individual final preparations. Some stretching; some listening to music; a couple of them randomly chatting; a couple of them going over the playbook. Troy was sitting cross legged on the floor in his own private corner, eyes closed, deep breaths, conducting his own version of a visualization meditation exercise he'd once read about. A hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he looked up.

"Time to go out there, son," his father said.

Troy nodded. "Right then. Let's do it."

"From East High School, welcome the Wildcats!!"

The cheers from the Wildcats supporters drowned out the boos and leers from the Knights supporters. Troy led his team out; Chad just behind him and leading the "What team?" chant. Chad was the type of player who fed off the crowd; who used their spirit to drive his adrenaline. The louder that he chanted, the crazier the crowd went. Troy on the other hand kept his head down, preferring to remain in his own private bubble as he led the team out for their last chance warm up.

Troy's personal focus in the lead up preparation had been to work on his three point jump shot. He was still feeling somewhat shaky, wishing he'd had just five more minutes to himself. He allowed himself to look up into the crowd. Among the sea of people dressed in red and white; she stood out from the rest. Her warm, reassuring smile. She touched the side of her eye, held her hand over her heart and pointed at him. Troy nodded, swallowing.

Those three words had power. Suddenly, Troy felt calm.

He spun around, running straight at Zeke and stealing the ball; taking it down court away from their hoop and spun around, taking his shot.

Three points.

It was now or never.

He was ready.

* * *

Gabriella had never been interested in Troy because of his jock status, or his basketball ability. Her crush on the blue eyed boy at the lodge developed before she had any idea of Troy's passion for the sport. Somehow, in their brief but animated conversation over hot chocolate between the karaoke and the midnight fireworks, he'd not once brought basketball up. She'd talked to girls who had a thing for the sweaty athlete. A girl in her decathlon team in San Diego went to every basketball game she could possibly attend for the purposes of ogling the players. The basketball tryouts that year had been Gabriella's first REAL taste of seeing something truly attractive about a man soaked in sweat.

She was madly, wildly into the game. Cheering, screaming, booing, crazy fan girl. When the referee made a questionable call in favour of the Knights, she found herself rising to her feet and shouting, "Oh COME ON!"

It was by far more exciting than watching the state team Troy had competed with the year before. Now, she had an emotional connection with the Wildcats in general; and a deep fondness for four of the team's members. One of those members, the deep fondness running a whole lot deeper and on many different levels. There was the level where she knew how important the game was; the level where she felt like she was channeling Troy's competitive edge into her emotions. It was a tight tussle, the lead going backwards and forwards between the Wildcats and the Knights. Each time the Knights scored she felt Troy's frustration. Each time the Wildcats scored, she felt his elation. It was as though she was finally beginning to completely, truly, 100 percent understand the universe of the boy she was so madly in love with.

And then there was the intense look on his face as he traversed the court; the rippling biceps as he moved; the sweat glistening on his forehead...

She wanted him.

* * *

Meanwhile, just on the other side of Ryan sat Sharpay. Not once in her time at East High had Sharpay actually attended an athletic event. Ryan couldn't help but stare at his sister in disbelief. She spent almost all of the first quarter of the game sitting calmly and attempting to appear aloof and nonchalant. She was filing her nails for a good five minutes, and reapplied her lip gloss no less than six times. However each time that any member of the Wildcats team had possession of the ball and was nearing the hoop, her eyes would light up, sitting slightly further forward in her seat. When Troy made his second three point shot of the game, Sharpay gave up trying to pretend that she didn't care, rising to her feet and cheering madly along with the students surrounding her.

Sharpay noticed Ryan's intent stare, a smirk on his face.

"What?!" she snapped.

"Nothing!" Ryan insisted quickly.

"Do I have something on my face?" Sharpay demanded, and proceeded to wildly fish around in her purse for her compact.

"No!" Ryan assured her, and hesitated just a moment before saying, "You just looked really into it for a second there."

Sharpay shrugged. "I happen to enjoy basketball, Ry. And this is a very intense match."

Her eyes diverted away from Ryan, back training along the court where Troy was currently in possession of the ball.

"Sure," Ryan smirked.

* * *

It was half time and the Wildcats were trailing by two points. The boys were sitting around in the locker room, looking rather dejected. Troy was surprised by just how dejected they were all.

"Why do you all look like we've lost the game?" Troy demanded.

"I really thought we were just gonna go out there and kick ass, hey," one of them responded.

"Well it doesn't work this way. These guys, about half their team is from last years team; they're more experienced; and they haven't had a screwed up preparation like ours. We're doing awesome! We've had a higher percentage of match time in the lead than trailing. Kenny, that steal you made just after quarter time was DYNAMITE. And Ben, take a look at your points scored. You're in the top four in the match so far. All we gotta do is go out there, work our asses off, and execute some of these plays we've been talking about all week."

Coach Bolton smiled at his son proudly. "You heard your captain. So. What's the plan for when we go back out there?"

* * *

Half time break was excruciating for Gabriella. During those minutes of halt to game play, she surrendered to the thoughts that had been flashing within her mind. Thoughts that she found herself having all the time, while watching television, while reading, while in Physics glancing over at him. He chose that moment to reappear from the locker room, clutching onto a water bottle. He threw his head back and tipped a little water over his face. Once upon a time to be considered a Neanderthalic move. But now...

"Gabriella, we're in public! Behave!" Taylor hissed.

"Huh?"

"Your thoughts are so transparent right now, mentally undressing him."

Gabriella was mortified – but she wasn't going to deny the accusation.

* * *

Troy's three point jump shot two minutes prior to the final buzzer sealed the deal, placing the Wildcats five points ahead of the Knights. The final buzzer sounded, from one half of the gym a deafening roar being emitted. From the other half, a depressing silence. It was the first time in three years that East High had defeated West High in Knight territory and celebrations were in order. Gabriella had risen to her feet, crazily shrieking and cheering as though she was at a rock concert. She watched as people began to pile onto the court to congratulate the heroes of the hour. Suddenly, the gap between herself and Troy was much larger than acceptable.

Ryan nudged her. "Go on," he urged.

Troy recalled several times with previous 'girlfriends' when he would experience the post match girlfriend kiss. When she would dash over from her place among the cheerleaders; throw her arms around him; kiss him very publicly between her squeals. He didn't doubt that half of it was show. His problem with it was that for the most part, they didn't truly GET just how important each and every win was to him. Not just the win, but his own performance and leadership ability.

For the first time, Troy welcomed the girl who came flying into his arms. He enveloped her, picking her off the ground, spinning her around as lips fused together, as tongues playfully duelled. One kiss spoke a thousand words. Words of elation; of relief; of excitement; of gratitude.

"One win down," she murmured as he set her down onto the ground.

"A whole season to go," Troy pointed out.

"One game at a time."

* * *

The full time siren had gone off and immediately Gabriella had dashed out to see Troy; and even Kelsi had made her way on court. Taylor was somewhat tentative. Her dash was more of a hesitant stroll. She squeezed Zeke on the arm as she passed, slowing approaching Chad as he was talking with Ryan. Ryan made himself scarce the moment he saw Taylor approaching.

"Hey," she said casually, even aloofly. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Chad said quietly. He couldn't blame her for her hesitation, he was very well aware that he had been behaving strangely. "I'm really glad you were here."

"Were you really? I was beginning to think you wouldn't have given a crap if I wasn't here."

Without even meaning to, her tone came out as somewhat bitter.

"That's fair. I know I've been a bit weird today."

"A bit?"

"David left my mom."

The announcement came completely abruptly, no lead in, no hesitation.

Taylor's eyes widened, her mouth literally falling open. "Oh... oh my... holy... Are you okay?"

Chad shrugged. "Yeah. Worried about my mom is all. I'm not upset about it because the guy was an ass and we're better off without him. But things have been weird at home."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it's not your fault."

"No I mean... I'm sorry because I really assumed that it was something to do with me. God, how self absorbed am I?"

Chad hesitated. The truth was that it was a little to do with her - but it was more about his own brain. About what she had said and how it had thrown him into a spin of self reflection, thinking about his own life.

"Not at all."

"When did this happen?"

"A couple of days ago. Anyway, it's cool, like I said, I didn't like him so it's all good. I'm gonna go make sure everyone is up for our traditional Wildcat pizza dinner. You gonna come?"

"Of course."

"Off the hook."

He pressed his lips to hers softly. "Thanks for being here. It really does mean a lot."

Taylor stared after him as he walked away, heading over to Zeke. A couple of days ago. Things had been weird for longer than a couple of days. She couldn't help but have the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that there was more going on, and that it was about her after all.

* * *

The West High basketball court had been taken over with Wildcats and supporters; with people were dashing out onto the court, running up to their friends, brothers, sons, boyfriends to hug and kiss and congratulate them. Kelsi was no exception, she found herself following in Gabriella's lead, running out onto the court. She quickly located Zeke and then Chad to congratulate them. She stole Troy from Gabriella long enough to give him a quick congratulatory hug. She was scanning the room, standing on tip toe. There was only one boy that she wanted to see.

Meanwhile across the room, Jason found himself receiving multiple cheerleader hugs. About half the team were currently preoccupied with girlfriends, meaning that there were more cheerleaders to go around. Paula's congratulatory hug was possible the only genuine one. She remained with him, speaking animatedly about how awesome the play Jason and Troy executed just before three quarter time had been. However as Paula spoke, Jason's eyes were flickering about the room. She sensed his distraction, amused rather than offended. She nudged him.

"She's over there."

Jason turned to where Paula had gestured, his face breaking into a smile at the sight of the short statured Kelsi who was standing on tiptoe, scanning a room filled with basketball players.

"KELSI!" Jason called, abandoning Paula and moving in her direction.

Her eyes lit up, quickening her gait and meeting him, throwing her arms around him.

"You guys were so awesome! YOU were awesome!"

As she spoke, Kelsi had clasped onto his hands, neither of them registering that she hadn't dropped them.

"It meant a lot, you know, having a friend here. Supporting me," Jason said.

Jason had always kept a small circle of friends, exclusive to the Wildcat crowd. His mom very diligently attended every game. However he couldn't remember the last time that anyone other than his mom, a fellow basketballer or a cheerleader - had been there to see HIM, to congratulate HIM.

"That's exactly why I came. To support you," Kelsi said quietly.

Within all of the excitement and craziness going on around them, in that moment in time, it all disappeared. It was just Jason and Kelsi.

Jason cleared his throat. "Umm... were you gonna come out for pizza? It's Wildcat tradition to go out post win."

"Umm... will everyone be going?"

"Well at a minimum I would say Gabriella will be there. It'll take a crowbar to separate her from Troy and we can't go without our captain."

She giggled. "Very true."

"Anyway, who cares who else is going? I'll be there, that's all that matters, right?" He had made the comment casually, with a jovial tone. Truth was, it was a hopeful tone. And Kelsi responded with complete sincerity with her simple response.

"Right. Of course I'll be there."

* * *

Chad's arm was drooped around Taylor's shoulder as they approached the canoodling couple in the corner.

"Bolton, you coming for pizza?" Chad asked.

Troy regretfully broke away from their long winded kiss, slipping his arm comfortably around her waist. "Yeah man, of course."

"Is this a team only thing?" Gabriella asked.

"This is a Wildcat thing and I would be personally offended if you were not there," Chad replied.

"Well then, I guess I'm coming."

"Awesome."

Troy turned to Gabriella. "Okay I'm gonna hit the showers and I'll come back to make out with you when I'm less smelly."

She giggled. "I love you, sweat and all."

Within fifteen minutes the team emerged from the West High gym into the parking lot where the buses were waiting to return students back to East High. They were met by cheers from the students, parents and teachers who were milling around in the parking lot. Chad hammed it up to the crowd, bowing and calling out, "thank you, thank you."

Taylor, Sharpay, Ryan and Gabriella were standing around Ryan's car, just away from the craziness. Sharpay was standing awkwardly to the side as the other three spoke animatedly about the match. Troy quickly jogged over to them.

"Okay, so I have to go back to school with the bus to get my truck. Then I'm gonna take a few of the guys from the team to the pizza place. So I'll see y'all there? You can go and warn them of our impending arrival."

"Sounds like a plan," Ryan agreed.

Gabriella tugged Troy away from the group slightly.

"Where's my non smelly boyfriend kiss?"

He grinned, pulling her towards him, kissing her deeply.

"Um... were you taking the boys home after this shindig?"

"No. I don't think so. Why?"

Gabriella paused. "Err... it doesn't matter."

"Gabriella," Troy said sternly. "Why?"

She relented, sighing, and enquired tentatively, "Is it true that guys get horny after exercising?"

Troy didn't quite get the exact reasoning behind her question. "Sometimes, it depends. I think it's to do with exercise releasing testosterone."

"Interesting. So it depends. Does it happen with you?"

Troy was finally beginning to catch onto her meaning, but he took pleasure in teasing her.

"Well, as a seventeen year old boy it doesn't exactly take exercise, pretty much anything and everything makes me horny at any given moment of the day. Why?"

"Um. No reason. Just curious."

"Gabriella if there's something you want, perhaps you'll need to ask me for it," he said coyly.

All she needed to do was look him in the eye, that look of pure lust written all over her face.

"Someone feeling a little antsy?" Troy asked with a coy smile.

"No!" Gabriella said defensively. Troy raised his eyebrows. "Maybe."

"I'm glad you can admit it," Troy said softly, stroking her cheek.

He glanced over, seeing that there were still a handful of people loitering and chatting in the carpark, the bus not quite ready to leave yet. He kissed her softly, but she reciprocated with a fervour. She moaned a little into his mouth, hands clawing at the back of his neck.

"Uh... maybe... maybe I can skip this pizza thing," Troy murmured.

"I think as captain you need to be there. Especially with your FATHER there and all. Your lack of presence might be noticed."

Troy paused, knowing that she was right. "How about we go and make an appearance, and then take off early? I'll point out that I have work in the morning and you… are tired. And want to go home."

"Good... good... I like that. Very much."

* * *

As Troy and Gabriella conversed - and kissed - Ryan, Taylor and Sharpay were waiting patiently for Gabriella to return.

"Uh... I might go back to school on the bus," Sharpay said suddenly.

"You? On the bus?" Ryan asked incredulously.

"I wanna get my car."

"And then meet us for pizza?"

"Uh no, I think I might go home."

Ryan furrowed his brow. "Sure you don't wanna come with us? You're more than welcome. Chad said it's the more the merrier."

"No. I'm good." She turned to head toward the bus for 'regular' students which was just about to depart. "Oh Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't be home too late," she said crisply. "We have dance class early tomorrow morning, remember?"

* * *

Between the team, the cheerleaders, the coaches and assorted friends and partners; the pizzeria was completely taken by storm. It was something they had become accustomed to; the previous year, almost every Friday night during basketball season would result in a similar intrusion. Celebratory mode was very much so in order.

"We so should be drunk right now," Chad said, a little too loudly.

"What was that?" Coach Bolton asked.

This was precisely why Jack Bolton and his assistant coaching team would make a brief appearance at these types of celebratory events, before departing. They didn't want to know. And for Jack, it was about more than just having an inkling of what the guys on the team were up to. It was his son and his son's friends.

Troy glared at Chad. "Yeah Chad, what was that?"

"Err... he said we so should be PUNK right now," Jason supplied, trying - and failing - to be useful. "Kids today and their wacky slang."

"Sure."

Troy was rather proud of himself and his multitasking, ambidextrous skills. Gabriella was sitting to his right. As a result, his right hand was busy. Nothing directly inappropriate in a public forum but enough to further frustrate the already severely frustrated Gabriella. At first rested on her knee, then rising to her mid thigh, and gradually on the rise. Meanwhile he was using his left hand for eating, drinking, hand gesturing.

Gabriella thought she might kill him. Literally. She'd been worked up since the first five minutes of play and it had taken all of her shame to admit this to Troy. And here he was, taking advantage of that knowledge? When his hand found its way underneath her skirt and then began to rise, her breath hitched. She knew he wasn't actually going to allow his hand to rise much further, but as it was, she was struggling to have any sort of coherent thought that wasn't M rated. She was almost incapable of making conversation with anyone around her; all she could do was hope that no one mistook her silence for rudeness.

The pizza had been devoured and Gabriella was utterly sick and tired of the situation. She fished her cell phone out of her handbag, quickly typing out a text message. Troy felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and pulled it out with his available hand. His eyes widened at the message, almost choking on the mouthful of Coke he'd just taken.

_Okay I really need to… you know what… and if you aren't going to do something to help me, then I might just have to go into the bathroom to look after it myself._

His hand suddenly retracted from her thigh, to facilitate faster text message typing.

_What, right here? You need to you know what? You need to be more specific babe... _

She was almost infuriated with his reply. Swiftly her reply was sent.

_No of course not here. And I need to CUM __Troy__ are you happy, I said it!_

He quickly picked up his glass and downed the remainder of his drink.

"Right then guys, I have to work in the morning so I might have an early one," Troy announced abruptly, standing up. "You want a lift now Gabriella?"

"Um yeah. I'm pretty tired actually."

Smirks were exchanged between the immediate friendship group. Despite the attempt to be suave and discrete, the escape for privacy was completely transparent.

"Hook in," Jason called out, demonstrating a high level of immaturity.

Coach Bolton closed his eyes, not wanting to know why the pair were disappearing, ignoring the catcalls. Another father son talk was indeed a necessity.

* * *

"We can stay hang if you want," Gabriella offered quietly as they headed hand in hand through the pizzeria towards the front door.

"Let me see.." Troy mused. "Hot horny girlfriend… pizza… decisions decisions…"

"Troy! Don't say that too loud!" she hissed, glancing around.

"You are though. There's no point in denying it now."

They were just barely outside the building when Gabriella pushed Troy against the wall; attacking his lips; tongue darting into his mouth; fingers raking through his hair; hands clinging to his chest.

"I was seriously about to kill you in there," she murmured.

"On the bright side, you're now nice and worked up, which in my experience means that the end result will be even more blissful."

"If it's not then I won't be happy with you in the slightest."

The kisses continued as Troy guided them over to where his truck was parked. Gabriella's hands were becoming rather frisky, in the completely open car park - possibly within view of the pizzeria windows - daring to brazenly graze her hand across his bulge. Troy had her pushed against the door of the truck, his own hands lightly rested on her sides beneath her blouse, gradually rising higher and higher.

"Okay, privacy is required immediately," Troy finally gasped.

"Uh huh."

His brain was trying to think, but he was finding it difficult to string together comprehensible thoughts. "Err... the parking lot at the mall?"

"Making out there is one thing but…" Gabriella trailed off, her brain ticking.

"Umm..."

"Just get in the truck and I will direct."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

_"Among the sea of people dressed in red and white; she stood out from the rest."_

I just want to acknowledge that I wrote this line WAYYYYYYYYY before we had any of the footage from HSM3. Way way way way way before. Like, um, before they had FILMED HSM3. I've been working on elements of _Someday_ since while I was writing _Here With You_. If you don't know why I'm telling you this then obviously you haven't watched the Now or Never clip… so yes, I was rereading this and was eerily struck by the similarity and then added in the "It was now or never" line because it seemingly worked. Anyway. I felt the need to point that out.

Next time on _Someday_, you can look forward to public shenanigans. And... other stuff. :-)


	24. Chapter 24

**S O**** M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I just wanted to take the opportunity to continue to express my gratitude to Ayen (zvkg-ai) and Martin (emptrajan) who preview my work. Ironically, a lot of stuff changes sooo drastically after what they see, I almost think some of it would be almost unrecognisable from the version that they originally read. Such as the first seven pages of this chapter which was in its original form about half the size. I also want to just give an overall thank you to everyone who is reading and supporting this story. It means the world to me knowing that you are enjoying this and I thank everyone so much for your lovely words. :-)

**_

* * *

_****_Previously, on Someday..._**

Troy kissed her softly, but she reciprocated with a fervour. She moaned a little into his mouth, hands clawing at the back of his neck.

"Uh... maybe... maybe I can skip this pizza thing," Troy murmured.

"I think as captain you need to be there. Especially with your FATHER there and all. Your lack of presence might be noticed."

Troy paused, knowing that she was right. "How about we go and make an appearance, and then take off early? I'll point out that I have work in the morning and you… are tired. And want to go home."

**THEN**…

"We can stay hang if you want," Gabriella offered quietly as they headed hand in hand through the pizzeria towards the front door.

"Let me see.." Troy mused. "Hot horny girlfriend… pizza… decisions decisions…"

"Troy! Don't say that too loud!" she hissed, glancing around.

"You are though. There's no point in denying it now."

His brain was trying to think, but he was finding it difficult to string together comprehensible thoughts. "Err... the parking lot at the mall?"

"Making out there is one thing but…" Gabriella trailed off, her brain ticking.

"Umm..."

"Just get in the truck and I will direct."

* * *

**Chapter 24**

Gabriella's frantic directions led Troy into an industrial area of town - a part which at 8pm on a Friday, was completely deserted. She continued to direct him to drive down the darkest street in the area, with a severe lack of street lights providing illumination. Gabriella pointed to where a large tree was overhanging providing an additional illusion of darkness.

"Park there," she ordered.

"You do realise that we are about to engage in activity which is illegal in such a public forum," Troy said as he eased the car to the curb and turned the ignition off.

Gabriella was highly aware of the fact, and it wasn't exactly her ideal scenario. But the fact was that she didn't care. It was either this or have Troy enter through her balcony and attempt to fool around in silence. Or pay for a motel room. Which in Gabriella's current state could lead to all sorts of places she wasn't quite comfortable with yet.

"You're a bad influence on me," Gabriella said as she pulled him towards her, a series of short, playful kisses ensuing.

"You're the one who initiated this little... liaison..." Troy responded. His lips were now pressing kisses along her jawline.

"Like you're complaining."

Gabriella gasped as Troy suckled slightly at her neck, and slipped his left hand just under the hem of her skirt, dancing up her leg. Gabriella's hands nudged at his jaw, away from her neck to allow her to attack his lips zealously. Troy's hand was dancing further up Gabriella's thigh, her own hands now having reached over to run underneath his shirt to feel the warmth of his skin. Gabriella gasped into his mouth as he allowed his thumb to brush against Gabriella's panties. He stopped and pulled away from her, a smirk decorating his face.

"Fuck, you weren't kidding when you said you were horny, were you?" he teased huskily.

His hand was now tantalisingly caressing her upper thigh, lips lingering just an inch away from hers. Her own hands were now massaging over Troy's pecs.

"I never used that word," Gabriella said, her breath hitching as she felt Troy's thumb once again graze over her panties.

"You implied it by asking me if I was horny," Troy shot back.

He let out a gasp as his girlfriend's slender fingers began to toy with his nipples. He was about to employ his second hand into action, the destination being her breasts, however he thwacked it against the gear stick, letting out a reflex grunt.

"Did that hurt baby?" Gabriella enquired.

She took his hand with hers, softly kissing the back of his palm. In a sudden after thought, she lightly ran her tongue along his index finger, sucking slightly at the tip. Troy groaned, the feeling of discomfort within his jeans increasing. However the hand brake and gear stick were proving to be definite obstacles impeding upon closer contact.

"Let's sit in the back," Troy suggested wildly, running his fingers through his hair.

"And it becomes even kinkier, in the backseat of a vehicle," Gabriella murmured.

Her expression was coy, but she could feel her heart thumping. There was something deliciously arousing about the forbidden nature of the liaison, however Gabriella knew very well that she wouldn't be in the situation if it hadn't been for her hormones. Nevertheless, she followed his instruction and clambered from the passenger seat, outside and into the back. Meanwhile in her moment of hesitation, Troy had located a rug he had stored underneath the passenger seat. He gestured for her to lie across the back seat, with her back propped up against the door. He placed the rug behind her, attempting to maximise her comfort in what was essentially an uncomfortable position.

Troy was crouched slightly above her, his right knee between her leg and the back of the seat; his left foot on the floor of the car, bent and resting against the seat for support. It was far from being the most comfortable position for Troy but he was at the point of exasperation where he was going to hang upside down on the monkey bars if that was what it would take to get the job done. He was quickly working to unbutton her blouse, while gently suckling on her neck. When his hand reached around her back, he felt Gabriella grasp onto his wrist.

"Umm... can you not? I just... don't feel entirely comfortable being naked in such a public forum."

"Good point. You know, if the cops suddenly arrive," Troy teased.

"Troy! Don't say that!"

Gabriella was mortified. In that moment, he saw the flash of hesitation in her eyes, that momentary consideration of calling off the whole thing and sending him home with a cold shower in order for each of them. Troy immediately went to action, distracting her with his skilful hand once again running underneath her skirt, this time rubbing his thumb with more force, and over the very strategic location of her clit.

"Can I at least take these off?" he murmured into her ear. Troy was gently nipping at her neck as he toyed with the waistband of her panties.

"Okay," Gabriella agreed, kissing him deeply.

He discarded the moist item - indeed of the lacy variety - and tossed them under the front seat. He was now able to reach under her skirt, unimpeded. His current position had him with his body weight forward, folding himself up by clinging onto the top of the back of the seat with his right hand. He was able to kiss and suckle and lick her lips, face, neck, shoulders and the swell of her breast as he desired. However this left only his left hand available for other stimulation. At first he was teasing, bringing her frustration to a whole new level, trailing his fingers through the crevasses of her slick folds without entering or rubbing. Gabriella was moaning in exasperation into his kisses, her own hands caressing his bulge through his jeans. Never before had Gabriella felt such a desperate need for his hands to be on her. His lips once again slipped away from hers, following a familiar journey along her jaw and down her neck. His tongue trailed a line along the swell of her breast.

"Troy…" Gabriella gasped.

There was something pleading in her tone which hit Troy, relenting from teasing and finally allowing his index and middle fingers to draw a circle around her clit. She was writhing beneath him, her breathing ragged, having almost given up completely on being able to return the favour. The removal of a hand didn't seem to hinder his efforts to please her. She wasn't even sure when or how but Troy had somehow tugged the left cup of her bra down, with his tongue mirroring his circling fingers, circulating around her nipple. Finally he allowed his fingers to make direct contact with her clit; Gabriella's hips bucked involuntarily in response. She had been hovering on the edge all night long through her active imagination alone, and so it didn't take him long to bring her to a shuddering climax. She was writhing and gasping beneath his touch.

Gabriella had anticipated that he would back off after her arrival however she was mistaken. He shifted his weight backwards removing the need balance himself with his right hand. The fingers which had been caressing her clit were gently probing at her entrance, as Gabriella was still panting within her orgasmic bliss. His free hand tugged the other cup of her bra down, cupping her breast and massaging. Troy lifted his index and middle fingers from her entrance, removing his hand from beneath her skirt altogether. Gabriella's eyes were wide as she watched his meticulously pointed action. He brought his fingers to his mouth, and licked his index finger.

"Seeing as you tasted me, I figured I wanted to taste you," he said huskily. "And now I want more."

Gabriella was struggling to speak, however finally found the ability to answer him.

"Not… not here," she finally gasped.

Troy smirked and returned his hand to its rightful place, slowly entering the two fingers inside of her. "So next time we have both complete comfort, privacy and time available..."

Gabriella gasped, feeling his fingers curl within her as he began to thrust. "Maybe..."

"This WILL happen Gabriella Montez, mark my word."

"It will happen. I just... don't know when."

He was still playfully thrusting his fingers inside of her. Gabriella at first had questioned whether his intent was one which could be fruitful so soon after her previous orgasm. But soon she felt her cheeks becoming hot once again, drawing in a deep breath.

"I didn't know that I could... that this could... oh shit that's good..."

His right index and middle fingers were thrusting and now he brought his left hand back down to its rightful place. He lazily circled his thumb around her clit, so close and yet so far from where she needed him to touch.

"Imagine this were my tongue," he whispered huskily, drawing out the circle one more time and then finally allowing his thumb to find its destination.

Gabriella let out a cry as his thumb finally hit her clit, rubbing backwards and forwards against her slick nub. Her eyes were closed tight and she had the visual in her brain.

"Oh my God..." she gasped. "Oh... holy... shit..."

"Is that good baby," Troy cooed, one hand with fingers curling into her hot centre, the other concentrating on her clit.

"Yes... oh god yes..."

"I told you that the end result would be more blissful."

She was writhing, hips bucking involuntarily, chest heaving as the climax was ever so close to hitting her. The speed of Troy's pumping fingers suddenly increased slightly, and part one hit her. She was vibrating around his fingers; gasping, moaning, crying out his name. All it took was a few more rubs to be hit once more, waves of pleasure reverberating throughout her body.

He finally withdrew his hands, licking his index finger once more before locating a few tissues from the storage compartment between the front two seats.

"Shit Troy... that was... oh my God..." Gabriella gasped, still attempting to neutralise her erratic breathing.

"What you needed?"

"Fuck yes."

"Potty mouth you," Troy murmured, leaning forward to kiss her softly.

"Too much time around you I think," she responded.

"Too much time?"

"Hmm... not enough time maybe," she murmured, looking at him with a sudden look of lust. "I don't have enough room back here to work logistically. So you, in the front."

Her tone was somewhat commanding as she gestured toward the front passenger seat. She had almost completely lost any element of reservation she had initially displayed, piquing his attention.

"To work?" he asked with a smirk.

"I said in the front. I can't get up unless you get up."

"Don't you worry I'm already up," Troy remarked with a lewd smirk.

He shifted his weight and followed her instruction, opening the back door and moving around to the front. Gabriella meanwhile reached forward, grasping the lever beside the seat and pulled the seat backwards as far as it could go. She then pulled her bra back up to at least cover herself, but didn't bother with re-buttoning her blouse just yet. She clambered outside and into the front - having provided herself with room to crouch on the floor in front of the seat.

"You've put thought into this, haven't you?" Troy remarked.

It took her less than ten seconds to unbutton his shirt, and she then quickly moved on to quickly unbuckle his belt. She reflected at that moment that he had been wearing this same belt every time she had removed a belt from him. She had given him the item for his birthday the year before, so it didn't bother her in the slightest. If he should ever wear a different belt she might not be as efficient with its removal. Down came the fly, and Troy didn't hesitate to lift himself from the seat enough to allow her eager hands to grasp onto both his jeans and his underwear, pulling the articles down in one swift movement, leaving them pooling around his ankles.

"It's official," Gabriella murmured, her hand enclosed around his shaft, languorously pumping up and down with her hand. "Sweaty Troy playing basketball turns me on and makes me wanna do this."

"So... in that case... I want you present at not only every game but every official training session, every unofficial game with the guys, every time I practice at home..."

"You're trying to get multiple blowjobs daily?"

"I see no blow job occurring here," Troy remarked.

Gabriella's head was hovering just above her pumping fist. "I spent... how long did that match go for? Whatever. Way too long thinking about this."

As she said _this_, she proceeded to plant wet, sloppy kisses along his length.

"And then the whole time at the damn pizza place. All I could think about was that I wanted to be doing this."

And then with _this_ her mouth enclosed around the head of his penis, tongue swirling around the end.

"Holy fuck..." Troy gasped.

Gabriella had always been a fast learner. This applied not only to math and science but also to the art of the blow job. In the short run of their sexual encounters together, she was already well aware that the tip of Troy's head was highly sensitive; that he liked starting slow and gradually going faster; that her tongue was a tool to be utilised throughout all stages. So she started out grasping onto the base with gentle teasing sucks and licks, eliciting verbal encouragement from the more than willing recipient.

"Fuck.. so good Gabriella... so so good..."

And gradually as his length grew and hardened, her actions became more deliberate. A more consistent bopping of the head, all the while maintaining the teasing of the tip. Every so often she allowed herself to look up, every time feeling astounded by the look of ecstasy on his face.

"Gabi..." Troy warned, as he knew he was close to the finale.

Her wide brown eyes looked up at him, mouth not moving from its position. Troy realised her intent, finding it surprisingly arousing. Why should he care what she chose to do with his deposits? But it was something to do with that look in her eye, that look of lustful determination, that look which told him that she wanted him, all of him. Realising how close he was with his warning, her head was bobbing furiously; tongue swirling as she bobbed and her right hand pumping at the base of his shaft. Troy's grunts and groans escalated and finally it hit him.

Even after her miniscule taste the day before, she had been expecting something a whole lot worse than what actually eventuated. Her eyes had been squeezed tight as she felt his liquid spilling into her mouth.

"You can... you can... spit it... if you want..." Troy managed to gasp.

She closed her eyes, swallowing. "Or not."

His breathing was ragged, hands still rested on the back of her head caressing slightly. "That just gets better and better every time."

"Good. That's good," she said, pleased with the response.

"Are you okay?" he murmured. "Was it icky?"

She giggled. "Surprisingly not. Although I am feeling somewhat cramped down here."

Troy pulled at the lever which put the back of the seat into recline; and pulled Gabriella up onto him in a fit of giggles.

"Come here you," he murmured, drawing her down for a kiss.

"You're kissing me after I..."

"Damn straight I am."

* * *

Troy pulled up at Gabriella's house about ten minutes shy of her curfew. After a compulsory extra make out session, she went to open the door to step outside. Suddenly, she turned around.

"Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are my panties?"

* * *

Troy slipped through the door about two minutes after his midnight curfew. His father was sitting up, diligently reviewing the footage of the match. That, and waiting up for Troy.

"Good game tonight," Coach Bolton remarked as Troy attempted to just slip past without conversation.

Troy sighed. He really just wanted to go to bed and crash. But given that he'd left the pizza place three and a half hours earlier, he figured he should put in the effort.

"I thought it went well," Troy said. "Lots of potential with the young guys. I reckon Kenny will be awesome by the end of the season – he's my tip for the hot shot to emerge from the youngins. Give him some confidence and we might have a future leader."

Jack nodded. "Have a nice time with Gabriella?"

Troy laughed, trying to sound casual. "Yeah, I drove her home and we just wound up talking and stuff."

"And stuff," Jack echoed.

Troy sighed. "I'm seventeen dad."

"I know."

"And to be frank, my decisions about my personal life are my decisions and they are that… they are about my personal life."

"I know that also."

"We're not having sex," Troy said firmly.

_'Yet' _Troy thought to himself.

"But you will?"

_'Yes.'_

Troy shrugged. "I think so."

"And you'll be responsible?"

"We've had this conversation like four times this year. I don't think we need to have it again."

Jack sighed. "I know. Your mother… she's worried. Keeps hassling me."

"And that's the only reason you're on my case about this?" Troy asked.

"What do you mean?"

Troy bit his lip, taking a step forward. "It's not got anything to do with that… that it's Gabriella?"

Jack was still looking at bit confused. "I'm not sure I know what you're getting at, son."

"Well you made your feelings about Gabriella pretty clear back when you first met her."

"And I already told you that I misjudged. Which surely you realise how difficult it is for a parent to tell a child that they were wrong about something," Jack said wryly.

A small smile broke onto Troy's face. "You… you really like her now?"

"I do," Jack confirmed. "I like that she makes you happy. Which is what is most important to me."

"I guess I thought that maybe… maybe with me auditioning for the musical again… you might have changed your mind about what you thought of her."

Jack shook his head. "No son, I haven't."

"Well… that's good. So… so you don't have to worry about me, and you can tell mom that too. I love Gabriella. I wouldn't ever want to do anything to hurt her."

"You love her?" Jack asked, a little taken aback.

"Well… yeah."

"Oh."

"Something else to run and tell mom and get her all worried about her little boy growing up and falling in love," Troy remarked wistfully.

"I think that would be more likely to calm her, rather than worry her."

Troy was silent.

"I get that you don't want to talk to me in detail about this stuff. But do me a favour and don't lie to me about it, telling me that you're just out talking. I'd prefer you were just silent and I can make my own deductions from that. Especially not when you walk in here with your shirt buttoned incorrectly and your hair sticking out all places."

Troy cleared his throat, feeling suddenly embarrassed. "Okay."

"Troy?"

"Yeah dad?"

"You played a good game. Very proud of you."

Troy smiled. "Good night."

* * *

Troy, Chad, Taylor and Gabriella had made plans for Saturday night together. The girls were studying together on Saturday afternoon; while Troy and Chad worked on a PE assignment. Then the girls were coming over and meeting them at Troy's.

"Calculus done... Lit done... Physics done... except I don't know if Troy has done his," Gabriella mused.

"You shouldn't have to coddle him every second," Taylor reprimanded.

"Yeah but I kinda bullied him into taking it so I feel a little responsible."

"Fair enough but he knows to come to you if he needs help. He seems like he's doing fine to me, anyway."

Gabriella smiled, somewhat proudly. "He is, isn't he?"

"Remind me to check on Chad's homework later actually," Taylor said. "He got detention this week because he didn't do his algebra homework."

"There's a difference between me coddling Troy to make sure he's doing okay and you having to actually get Chad to DO his homework. He's old enough to sort out his own life schedule."

"That's what he says," Taylor said, her sigh long and loaded.

"Trouble in paradise still?"

"Uh huh."

"Did you talk to him like I keep telling you to."

"Not really."

"Maybe you're imagining things?" Gabriella suggested.

"I'm not," Taylor said bluntly.

"Maybe it's got nothing to do with you."

"I know he's got family stuff going on but there's been tension since before all of that surfaced. I just... I have a gut feeling that I can't explain. It's as though he's let something grate at him and then just pretended it doesn't exist. And it's gonna just pop up one day and explode in our faces; and all I can do is sit and wait."

"No, all you can do is TALK TO HIM."

"And be the nagging girlfriend."

"Better to be the nagging girlfriend than the paranoid girlfriend."

"I don't want to talk about this," Taylor said. "Let's talk about Troy instead."

"Obviously you NEED to talk about it. Whereas I have no need to talk about Troy."

"I might need to but I don't want to think about it which means I don't want to talk about it. And you might not need to talk about Troy but I am certain that you WANT to because you always want to talk about him."

"I do not always want to talk about him," Gabriella protested, but then relented. "But nearly always I suppose."

"You should of seen Coach Bolton's face last night when the two of you made your quick exit. Absolutely priceless. I bet Troy copped an earful from him."

"Great, and I have to face him tonight. Tell me, why did we decide to just hang around at Troy's?"

"Because we're all broke."

"The boys have cars. We don't need money to have fun!"

"I get it," Taylor said knowingly. "You've experienced the orgasm in the car and have realised it is no longer compulsory for parents to be out of the house, you can just go and park in the mall parking lot."

"Taylor! You are ridiculously dirty about all this."

"I grew up listening to my sister talk very openly with her friends about her various... liaisons. I guess it rubbed off."

"Besides, we weren't at the mall parking lot," Gabriella said indignantly.

"But you don't deny the orgasm in the car."

"Shut up."

"You think you'll go all the way soon?" Taylor asked.

"Umm... define soon?"

"Soon... before long... at an early date."

"Soon-ish. Maybe," Gabriella added, flushing a little.

"Really?"

"Umm... well there are other steps before we get there. One major step. But that step more or less a definite to happen very very soon if Troy has his way."

"That step being?"

"He err... wants to... you know... go down on me."

"He WANTS TO and you're PROTESTING?" Taylor asked incredulously.

"Uh... I guess."

"Stop protesting and DO IT girl. Seriously."

"It's good?" Gabriella asked shyly.

"Oh yes," Taylor said definitively. "You eat lots of pineapple, don't you?"

Gabriella looked confused. "Uh, yeah... why?"

"That's good. Very good. He will appreciate that." Taylor glanced at the clock on Gabriella's nightstand. "Shit. We'd better get a move on."

"Okay at least FINISH the story first! Why will he appreciate that?"

"According to my sister - and the subsequent research I did to verify that her facts are correct - it uh... makes your... you know... it makes you taste better. Sweeter."

"Taste... my... oh... OH!" Gabriella paused. "Really?"

"Come on, we have to go."

"I'm fascinated by this. Scientifically I mean."

"I'll send you the link I found."

"Is it a Wikipedia link because that isn't at all reliable."

"No! Who do you take me for?"

* * *

Meanwhile over at the Bolton household, as was inevitable with the boys, they completed a chunk of the assignment and then retreated to the backyard, basketball in hand.

"Your three point shot is looking awesome dude," Chad complimented.

Troy shrugged. He knew he had improved a lot over the last few months, even with his injury and his off season. Still, he didn't like to brag. "There's always room for improvement."

"True."

"Hey Chad?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh... can I ask you something about you and Tay?"

"Sure you can ask. We'll see if I'll answer."

Troy grinned. "Uh.. I guess... okay. When you're, you know, fooling around and stuff. Do you kinda take the lead, guide her?"

Chad paused. "Depends on her mood. Sometimes I have to. She retreats into this _I hate my body I don't know what I'm doing_ state and I have to kinda coax. Sometimes this super vixen emerges and it's all like dirty talk and shit."

"Interesting."

"Why?"

"Just curious."

"Dude. Speak. Girl trouble?"

Troy sighed. "Not trouble. Just... wanting to make sure that it wasn't weird that Gabriella was kinda like that. Even with... the little that we do. Sometimes she's shy and uncertain, but then she'll come out with something like.. okay last night for example, at the pizza place, she sent me this text message."

He held out his phone for Chad, who proceeded to have a coughing fit upon reading the text message exchange from the previous night. "Dude! Hot stuff."

"Yeah. It just worries me when she'll go from being like that to being uncertain. I worry that she's having second thoughts about whether we're going too fast or something."

"Nah. I've thought about this a lot actually, I have a whole theory about it. You wanna hear?"

Troy hid a smile. Chad was always coming up with strange 'theories' to explain girl behaviour. If nothing more, it would at least be an entertaining story. "Shoot."

"We should sit for this."

The guys sprawled out on the grass.

"So these girls right, the lovely women we call our girlfriends. They've come into the adolescent world very differently to you and I, my friend. They realise at a young age that they are smart which makes them different. As you get older you get further ingrained into these stereotypes."

It was this point when, from Troy's position, he could see the sliding door between his house and the yard; and he could see two familiar people. He decided to have a bit of fun with this, hoping that they would clue in. Luckily they did, freezing in their places.

"Life becomes mathier, sciencier, if possible. But then puberty hits, and there are hormones, and with hormones come instincts to act upon particular... for lack of a better term, urges. But this stereotype contradicts acting upon these urges. To compensate, they build up this 'I don't need a boyfriend' bravado which perpetuates the situation; suppressing the natural human need and want to experience sexual pleasure. It's like the angel on the shoulder, but because in this case it's more the devil let's call it... math girl. Then fine studs like you and I come along and they realise that there is indeed more to life than Pythagoras. Now I think it comes around the time of the first orgasm. Because it's like it hits them, a sudden realisation of - holy fuck look what I've been missing. Enter super vixen - situated upon the other shoulder. So now we've got math girl up here on the left, and super vixen up here on the right. Super vixen is just dying to be let out, she spews out in sudden volcanic eruptions. Meanwhile the math girl is saying, no, don't do that, that's not appropriate, fighting back against the super vixen. Does this make sense?"

Troy nodded. "Completely."

"Our job, as the men who wish to reap the benefits of the super vixen, is to do as much as we can to encourage her presence. To make the girl that exists between the fighting forces to realise that there is nothing wrong with the super vixen. The super vixen isn't the devil. She is a natural part of the make up of the contemporary woman..."

Troy was struggling not to laugh. The expressions on Gabriella and Taylor's faces was absolutely priceless.

"Troy? Are you with me?"

Troy grinned broadly. "Go on," he urged. "This is just getting interesting."

"I'm glad you dig my theory, I've thought about this a lot lately. And I think the next part is the part that we can collaboratively work out. What we need to study is HOW it is that we can coax the super vixen out, what strategies we can use. Okay. So. We need to repress the math girl. She's up... hang on... what shoulder was she on?"

"The left."

"Thanks."

Chad paused. It wasn't Troy who had answered.

"Tay and Gab are standing right behind me aren't they?" he asked calmly.

"Yup," Troy said, erupting into a fit of laughter.

Chad turned around slowly. "Taylor. My wonderful, beautiful, sweet, loving..."

"Cut the crap, Danforth," Taylor said.

She was only somewhat offended but more so amused by his speech. In fact, the truth was that it was comforting to hear conversation about her that suggested that he wasn't planning to break up with her any second.

"I swear I will be the death of you, Bolton," Chad said.

Troy was too busy laughing to care about Chad's poisonous tone. "But that was so worth it. You should have seen how they were looking at you. Fucking priceless."

"I wouldn't be laughing mister. Obviously Chad's little speech was in response to something that YOU had said," Gabriella said, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh please. There are no secrets within this little group. We all know that. We might as well publish a freaking newsletter about everyone's relationships and send it around via e-mail," Troy pointed out.

"That would save a lot of time spent text messaging people with gossip," Taylor mused.

"Are you lot staying for dinner?" Lucille Bolton's voice rang out from the back door.

Troy looked at his friends. "Are we?"

They had discussed the fact that there was a lack of money floating around amongst the group and attached to that the suggestion that they would order pizza.

"Real food!" Chad exclaimed excitedly.

"Don't get too excited, it'll just be pasta," Lucille warned.

"I love your pasta!" Chad exclaimed again. "Okay. We're having dinner."

"Looks like Chad has decided on our behalf," Taylor said.

"That would be lovely Mrs..."

"Uh uh..." she warned.

Gabriella sighed. "Lucy."

"I'll have you trained any day yet. Garlic bread also wanted?"

"Why am I not here all the time like I used to be?" Chad pondered.

"That's so cute. My mom would bash Chad across the head if he called her anything other than Ms McKessie," Taylor remarked once she was out of ear shot.

* * *

It was an early night for our favourite gang. The boys had basketball practice early the following morning at the Redhawks - well at

10am, which for a Sunday was early. Followed by the official last minute afternoon of call back preparation at the Evans household. Troy was yawning slightly as he drove Gabriella home.

"Do we want to make a detour? You've got an hour til curfew."

"It's okay. You look like you're about to fall asleep."

"Uh kinda. It's been a crazy week."

"That it has."

"I'll see you tomorrow though. You're going to Ryan's earlier, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Gabriella admitted, slightly hesitantly. "So I'll see you when you get there."

"I'll be looking forward to it. Except for the whole being Ryan's pet thing. He was talking about COSTUMES on Thursday. I was a tad mortified."

She giggled. "He knows what he's doing though."

"If he pulls out something with a sequin on it..."

"Troy, the character of Mike is a rockstar wannabe. I don't think even Ryan would associate sequins with that."

"You never know."

* * *

Troy wearily staggered back inside of his house, feeling rather excited by the notion of pulling off his clothes and crashing into bed. He didn't even have plans for a pre sleep wank, that was how tired he was.

"Chad seems like he's taking everything with a brave face," Lucille commented as Troy came through the front door.

"Huh?" Troy said, clearly confused, stepping into the living area where his parents were watching TV.

"With his mom and David splitting."

"WHAT?!" Troy exclaimed. "Back up there a little."

Lucille looked at her son, shocked. "David left them a few days ago. Chad's mom called me to talk about it, in tears she was. You... Chad didn't tell you?"

"No. No he didn't," Troy said, gritting his teeth a little.

A part of him was offended, a part of him upset, a part of him confused. He and Chad talked about everything, well, he had _thought_ they talked about everything. It made no sense that he would have hidden something so important to his family.

"I'm sure it wasn't anything personal. Maybe he just wanted to process it himself before talking about it," Jack suggested.

"Chad? Process? You have MET Chad haven't you?"

"Once or twice," Jack said dryly. "Just talk to him son."

"Don't you worry. That I will."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Thank you Dani for staying up til 2am editing this - I should be hearing you say right now. (This is my way of having an excuse if you didn't like anything. Ha.)


	25. Chapter 25

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **This chapter is not only long but it's fairly dialogue heavy and there's actually a whole heap going on very subtly. If it's not progressing something it's setting something else up to be progressed soon. So if you want to really get everything, don't even attempt to skim. Word? Off the hook. Read now...

* * *

**Chapter 25**

Troy could recall a period of his life when Sunday mornings had been purely a time for sleep. In fact the only portion of Sunday morning he would see would be in the form of late Saturday night; then remaining lolling around in bed until early Sunday afternoon. However since so many other aspects of his life had gone through such a transformation, it was no surprise that even the sacred Sunday slumber had been affected. Training was scheduled to begin at precisely 9:00am at the Redhawks gym. After two hours of training, Troy was expected to arrive at the Evans mansion no later than 11:30am for his final day of rehearsals for the call back audition the following day after school.

One would have expected Troy to roll out of bed at the last minute possible, given the gruelling day that lay ahead. Rather, he was up and ready to leave even before his father had finished his morning coffee.

"You do know it only takes about fifteen minutes to get there?" Jack remarked in amusement, as Troy was ready to leave the house at 8:20.

Troy nodded. "Uh huh. See you there."

Jack suspected Troy was going to Gabriella's, however for once his fatherly instinct would not have been further from the truth. In fact Troy had decided to leave early in the slight hope that Chad might also get there a little early. However the plan backfired, with the exact opposite occurring – Chad was five minutes late. Then, during each of their three short breaks, Chad was speaking on his cell phone.

"Hi Taylor," Zeke called out.

"I'm not talking to Tay," Chad hissed snippily.

Zeke's eyes widened, hands held up defensively. "Well, so-rry!"

Troy was agitated. Confronting Chad about why he had withheld the information about his mothers separation was inevitable. And Troy preferred to get it over and done with. But the fates seemed to want to put off the conversation. As soon as training finished, Chad took off with Jason and Zeke in tow.

"Have fun at rehearsal!" they called out to Troy.

"Uh yeah... see you tomorrow I guess," Troy responded, a little miffed at their somewhat coldness. And annoyed that an opportunity to talk to Chad had passed by.

* * *

All Troy could do was go on about his day as planned; showering up and heading straight to the Evans property. Twice in one week he had been there. It was officially a record for him. He'd felt nervy about their one on one rehearsal earlier in the week, and despite the gruel fest it had been with the wrath of the combined Evans duo, it had been okay. And now they additionally had the assistance of both Kelsi and Gabriella. Troy smoothly pulled up to the gate and buzzed himself in – and as he glanced towards the visitor parking bays, he was already perplexed at what he saw. He spotted Chad's bomb of a car, along with Martha's Hyundai.

"What the fuck?" he said out loud to no one in particular.

Troy cautiously headed toward the door, and only moments after ringing the doorbell Ryan flew the door open.

"What the fuck is Danforth doing here?" Troy demanded.

"Hello to you too," Ryan said, amused. "Everyone is in the lounge."

"Everyone? I thought this was just me and you and Kelsi and Gabriella?" Troy said, confused.

"Nope. We are all here," Jason's muffled call came from down the elaborate hallway came.

Ryan led Troy down and into one of the lounge rooms. Troy was bewildered to see Taylor and Martha poring over a book; Zeke and Chad fixated to the PS3; and Jason sitting with a guitar on his lap, Kelsi instructing.

"What the fuck is going on?"

"I told you he wouldn't want us here," Chad said smugly, his eyes not leaving the television. "YES! Beat that, Baylor!"

"Exactly why I want you all here. Because he doesn't want you here. Troy, if you're going to make it in life as a performer, you're going to have to perform under all sorts of pressures that you don't want."

"I don't want to make it in life as a performer. I want to play professional basketball," Troy said matter of factly. As he spoke, he walked across the room and stood behind the couch where Gabriella was poring over her script. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head as he squeezed her shoulder affectionately. "Seriously though, Taylor and Martha are one thing, they are least are bright intelligent people with analytical ability and... what not. But those three, seriously? How are they supposed to help me?"

"Gee, thanks Troy," Chad said. "Glad to know you care about our opinion. COME ON! Faster!"

"Anyway, we're not here to help. We're here coz we were told we could use the PS3 and eat all the food we wanted," Jason said honestly.

"They will help you by making you feel comfortable about performing in front of people. If you can't perform in front of your friends..." Ryan began to say.

"Don't you remember that little thing called Twinkle Towne last year? Half of the town was there for that," Troy pointed out.

Ryan cleared his throat. "Well... I do remember you disappearing on opening night because of nerves..."

"Oh come on, it was my first show!" Troy said defensively, feeling embarrassed at the reminder of just how freaked out he had been. "And what about the talent show?"

"Oh please, you came on after Mrs Hoffenfeffer's sock puppet act. You could have sang out of key and made up lyrics on the spot and you would have been superior. Anyway, we all know you had ulterior motives there so it doesn't count." Troy was about to protest again, but Ryan held up his hand. "Come on Troy, just trust me here. They're not doing any harm. They won't be paying attention anyway."

And in perfect illustration of Ryan's point, Zeke let out a cry of, "A-ha! You beat THAT Danforth!"

Troy let out an exasperated sigh, and collapsed onto the couch beside Gabriella. She took his hand in hers, squeezing softly.

"If it means anything, I told him you wouldn't like this plan," she said with a small smile.

"Gee thanks for the back up, Gabriella," Ryan said sarcastically.

However his words weren't registered by either of Troy or Gabriella, as Troy had his hand cupping her face and a thumb caressing her cheek. He leaned forward, lips meeting softly.

"We've got no time for this," Ryan cut in, thrusting a sheet of paper into Troy's lap.

Troy reluctantly pulled away from Gabriella and glanced down at the sheet. "What's this?

"A schedule. sheet. If everything goes according to plan, you'll be home by 5 and have the time you requested for homework and what not, and even time to run through everything once more within your own preparation time. If you feel so inclined to do so."

"Then what are we waiting for, let's get this done," Troy said, summoning a fake cheeriness that was far from the desperately tired and overwhelmed that he was actually feeling.

"That's the spirit. Then we are going to start with the scene reading and get it over and done with since I think it's the easiest part."

"Great. Gabriella and I were working on it during our free periods like you asked," Troy said, and proceeded to rifle through his backpack.

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked.

"Umm... getting my script?"

"Script? No no. You don't need a script."

"Uh, yeah I do."

Ryan exhaled. "I thought we went through this?"

"Went through what?"

"That you needed to have the scene memorised."

Troy stared at Ryan, horrified. "No! No you never said that. You've told me to do a lot of things, all of which I've done. Not one of them was to memorise the scene."

"Well isn't that obvious?" Ryan said, somewhat impatiently.

"No! It's not. Do you remember how long it took me to remember my lines for Twinkle Towne last year?"

"And yet you learnt an entire song in like a half hour for the talent show," Martha offered.

"That's... different. It's... musical... and catchy. And we cheated! The lyrics were on the sheet music at the piano, weren't they Kelsi?"

Ryan was in his commanding mode, and not in the mood for Troy's excuses in the slightest. Apparently there was more in common between himself and his sister than he would like to believe.

"We will run through the scene once with your script," Ryan allowed. "After which I am removing the script. You WILL know this by tomorrow. It's ONE scene Troy. And I guarantee you that Theodore will know every line perfectly. Gabriella? Are you ready?"

Gabriella had already been informed by Ms Darbus that her presence and involvement in the call back was necessary, in the form of the run through of a scene with each of the boys. She was highly impressed with Ryan's efficiency, and couldn't help but smile in admiration of her friend and the effort he had put in just to help Troy.

"Whenever you are," she replied.

"Eat shit Danforth!" Zeke cried. "I officially rule and you…"

Ryan marched over to the PS3, and pulled the cord out of the television.

"NO!" Chad and Zeke gasped in unison.

"My high score!" Zeke added despondently. "It better have saved itself."

"You're no fun Evans," Chad grumbled.

Nevertheless, the boys shut up and watched as Troy and Gabriella brought the lives of Mike and Nina to life. The first run through was delightful. Kelsi's face was bright as they performed. This was the delight of the script writer; being able to see one's work come to fruition. From the moment the plot line had come into her brain, when the lyrics had flowed from her hand and the notes had played themselves on the piano - there was Troy and Gabriella; and Troy and Gabriella only to play these roles.

"I really really wanna see this show," Jason remarked in awe once the reading was over. "And that's just one scene. Kelsi, this is awesome."

Kelsi blushed slightly. "Gabriella fixed that scene so much."

Ryan went over to Troy, taking the script from him. "Okay. We run through it again."

Troy cleared his throat. "Right. Excellent. Let's do it."

He stood, waiting expectantly.

"You start the scene Troy," Gabriella said helpfully.

She of course already knew the lines for the entire scene.

"I do?" Troy snatched the script back from Ryan, scanning over it. "So I do. Okay... one second... okay. I can do this. Ready?"

Gabriella nodded.

"You can't really tell me that you WANT to be with that jerk," Mike said.

"Don't call him a jerk. He's not a jerk," Nina replied.

Silence.

Troy scratched the back of his neck. "Ryan, we could be here for a while man."

"I'm sensing that," Ryan said darkly, his tone dripping with annoyance. Mentally he was trying to work out how the schedule was going to be affected if they actually sat and allowed Troy to go through and memorise his lines. Finally, he said, "Okay. Let's leave it for now. But Troy, seriously, it's one scene. You should be able to learn it. At least learn it well enough so that you can have the script on the floor and just glance down if absolutely necessary."

Logically, Troy knew that Ryan was right. He SHOULD be able to memorise one scene. When it came to school work, Troy wasn't too bad at rote learning. It was practically how he'd made his way through half of his courses until Gabriella's arrival and insistence upon actually interpreting and understanding material. However every time he stood without the script in front of him and opened his mouth – his mind was blank.

Troy exhaled. "Fine. I'll... I'll do my best.

"Now, Gabriella. Let's talk about you," Ryan said.

Gabriella was immediately concerned. "I know that wasn't my best performance," she stammered. "But I promise that by opening night I'll…"

"Gabriella, I wasn't going to criticise your performance," Ryan interrupted. "I'm going to talk about preparing you for your role in tomorrow's audition."

"Huh? Don't I just… do the part? Shouldn't we be focusing on preparing Troy?"

"We're here to ensure Troy gets the part. And with the scene reading, your role is going to be crucial in defining whether this happens."

"It will be?"

"Yes. Gabriella, what I need is for THAT performance there - to be identical to that which you portray when you are reading opposite from Theodore."

She stared at Ryan, somewhat confused. "But... isn't a part of your whole reasoning why Troy is better for the part that he and I work together on stage better than I would with Theodore?"

"Yes. Yes it is. But Theodore will suggest that it's still not fair because you two are dating and therefore of course he has had the opportunity to practice with you and be accustomed to your style. He might suggest that there is bias, that you purposely performed at a lower standard when you were acting across from him."

"But I AM better with Troy. Not because I am purposely worse with other people though."

"Okay. But tomorrow, you need to be the same with both of them. I would rather if you were flat and dry with both of them to be honest. But I think Troy responds better when you are performing better."

"How do you expect me to take him seriously?"

"Use your magnificent skills and imagine he's Troy."

"So you want me to take a drug because that might be the required state to get my imagination working that actively."

"You should be able to imagine my presence at any given moment," Troy said flirtatiously.

"I prefer the real thing," Gabriella responded, blushing slightly.

As much as Ryan supported the relationship between the two, he required focus, and immediately stepped between them, sensing an impending kiss disrupting the flow of proceedings. "We'll work on it. Perhaps later on you and I can run it a few times and I'll do my best to act my worst. But now, I want to move on to styling."

"Styling?" Troy repeated, ears pricking - and not in a positive way.

"Yes. We have to organise your costume..."

"Costume?!" Troy said incredulously. "Costume?! This is an audition. Last year I wore my freaking tracksuit and got the part."

"That was last year. This is this year. Now do you want my help or not?"

Troy sighed. "Yes. Yes I do."

"Then we will organise your costume. Now come with me."

"Can we have the PS3 back?" Jason asked hopefully.

Zeke was already reconnecting it, not even waiting for Ryan's response.

"I suppose. For a while," Ryan relented. "Oh, there's food in the kitchen if you want it guys."

The PS3 was abandoned. "Can I eat something?" Troy asked, glancing in the direction of the kitchen.

"I have scheduled you a break later on."

"How kind," Troy said somewhat sarcastically.

"I'll get you something," Gabriella offered.

"Upstairs. Come on," Ryan prodded.

* * *

As Troy became a life sized Ken Doll within Ryan's sea of costume items, the rest of the group were now congregating in the casual kitchen area.

"Who are you texting?" Martha asked Zeke.

He was skillfully eating a giant club sandwich with one hand and texting with the other.

"Monica. She finishes work at 2 so I'll probably take off around then."

"You're so smitten with her, it's adorable," Gabriella said with a smile, as she scoured through the fridge for a collection of Troy's favourite foods.

"Adorable?" Jason repeated. "It's disgusting. I'm surrounded by fools in lust."

"You're just jealous," Martha teased.

"Huh?" Jason asked, oblivious to Martha's insinuation.

She jerked her head in the direction of the bench, where Kelsi was sitting at a stool listening to her Ipod as she scoured through the script. Jason glanced over, a small smile creeping onto his face.

Meanwhile, Taylor also had been sitting at the bench with a sandwich on a plate, clutching onto a book. Chad approached her, and brushed her arm gently.

"Can we talk?" he asked quietly.

Taylor felt trepidation within. She abandoned her sandwich and book and wordlessly followed him. They wound up in the very dining room where they had been when he first asked her out a couple of weeks before the end of summer vacation. She couldn't help but reflect upon how ironic that was. Back in the location of the beginning as she could feel the end coming.

"Before you say anything," Taylor said. "If this is where you say it's not me it's you but I'd like us to be friends... can we just skip it because I don't think I can handle hearing that without vomiting."

"WHAT?!" Chad exclaimed, genuinely flabbergasted. "What on earth makes you think that I would wanna end this?"

"Uh... this last week or so of weirdness?" Taylor pointed out as though it were obvious. She added quickly, "And yes on Friday you told me about David leaving which I am totally sympathetic about. But… it's been weird for longer than that. Please don't even try to deny that."

Chad couldn't deny it. He knew he'd been acting all crazy. He was very well aware of the fact. But breaking up?

"Taylor, I don't want us to break up," Chad said.

"You don't?"

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

"I thought we established that we weren't going to be carbon copies of our friends? What's with this sudden bout of insecurity here?"

"This is Taylor here you're talking to. And I'm sorry if it bothers you but I have insecurities. Yes, I really do. I thought you of all people understood that. And I don't think it's unreasonable that I was to be somewhat freaked out by your behaviour. Because it is NOT like you to shut down, to shut me out."

"Well tell your insecurities to shut up because you're barking up the wrong tree."

"Then what tree should I be barking up? Because you can't tell me that I was imagining things with all the weirdness."

Chad sighed. "No. You're right about that. Fuck... it's complicated. I'm not used to sharing stuff, okay? I've just been weird coz I've been sorting through stuff in my brain. I'm not used to thinking about bigger stuff but between senior year and hanging around smart girls all the time, suddenly it seems that my brain wants me to care about this bigger stuff. And to be honest I don't really want to talk about it because I'm still trying to sort through it all myself. I feel stupid for letting it affect us but I really didn't realise that you were as freaked as you were."

Lie number 1. He had known she was freaked. Hence making the step to smooth things over.

"I was freaked," Taylor said quietly. "This last week made me realise how...how quickly I've come to want you around. I might not NEED you, I'm still me and I'm still ridiculously independent and stubborn but... I want you around. I didn't like the idea of us ending in the slightest."

"Tay, even I am not stupid enough to just end something that's just starting. If there was something I wanted to talk about with you, something you'd done to bother me - I'd talk about it, yeah?"

Lie number 2. It was her comment which had started the whole thing. It was her comment that caused a sudden need to actually care about who he was and who he wanted to be.

_I'm dating __Chad__ Danforth, for crying out loud._

"Okay," Taylor said quietly. "And if you decide that you want to talk about all the big stuff... I'm pretty good with that kind of thing."

"I know you are."

"I just want everything to go back to how it was. Can we do that?" Taylor asked earnestly.

Back to how it was…

Back to before one comment from Taylor had made Chad question everything he was, whether he was good enough. He'd never given a shit what anyone thought about him. But what she thought meant more than anything.

Back to how it was…

Back to a time before life became stressful. Before his guidance counsellor was calling him in to talk about his average grades and college aspirations. The future had always seemed too far away to care about. Now, it was coming faster than he would like.

Back to how it was…

Back to the days before his mom was crying herself to sleep every night. Before his little sister started coming into his room to steal his Ipod so she could turn it up so loud that she couldn't hear their mom crying. Before they'd lost a second income from the house, before his mom started working a second job just to have enough money to pay the electricity bill.

Back to how it was…

Chad smiled at Taylor, capturing her waist with his hand and pulling her forward. "Of course," he murmured, lips meeting lips.

Lie number 3.

* * *

"All right stop stuffing your faces I need you all again!" Ryan called out as he bound down the stairs.

Kelsi and Martha diligently appeared. Taylor and Chad also strolled in, hand in hand. He sat down on one of the large, cushy arm chairs and motioned for Taylor to squish in with him. Ryan poked his head into the kitchen where Zeke and Jason were standing in front of the open refridgerator.

"you can bring it into the lounge room, come on!" Ryan said impatiently.

"Have you always been this moody?" Jason asked.

"Look, I'm letting you eat all the food you want in exchange for helping me when I want you to help me. And I think I've found Mike's style but I need your opinions here. Especially yours Kelsi, I mean, you're the one with the clearest vision of Mike. So it'll be up to you to approve. TROY! HURRY UP!" Ryan called up the stairs.

Troy's footsteps were heard clumping down the stairs. He appeared moments later. His arms were folded across his chest in a clearly disgruntled, uncomfortable manner. Dressed in a white v neck tee, black leather jacket, dark blue skinny leg jeans and white converse – Troy was feeling more than a little out of his comfort zone.

"That is perfect, so so Mike. Like this mish mash of styles... he's a lost soul, trying to find his place in the rock world, trying to find his own style by copying everyone else's," Kelsi said, eyes dancing. "It's like 50s rocker meets Elvis meets metro meets... I don't know what it is but it works. Troy, how do you feel?"

"I feel like a fucking tool," Troy declared honestly.

"You look like a fucking tool," Chad said with a snort.

Ryan shot Chad a dark look, Taylor hit Chad on the arm in a silent plea to shut his mouth.

"I like it. I don't know anything about musicals or costuming or fashion but it looks good to me," Taylor said helpfully.

"Troy, why do you look like you're about to go to a funeral?" Ryan asked.

"I'm sorry man, this just isn't me."

"No, it's not you. It's Mike. That's what acting is about."

"I get that. But… well… I am questioning whether wearing these skinny jeans for a long period of time might impact upon my… abilities…"

"Abilities?" Jason said blankly.

"You have abilities?" Zeke jibed.

"Where's Gabriella? I think she will have an opinion here," Martha pointed out.

"GAB!!" Chad shouted at the top of his lungs.

Taylor winced, her ears practically ringing from the sheer decibel of Chad's call.

"Yeah yeah, hang on, I was just washing…" Gabriella appeared from the bathroom, stopped in her tracks and trailed off mid sentence. "Wow."

A smirk was toying on Troy's lips as he studied his girlfriend. She was very blatantly checking out every aspect of what he was wearing. He knew that stare. He OWNED that stare.

"And there you have it, the outfit is approved," Ryan said knowingly.

"Hmm?" Gabriella said a little absentmindedly.

"Gabriella you've got a little something here," Taylor said, motioning to her lower lip.

"Huh?"

"Stop drooling."

Gabriella looked embarrassed and tore her eyes away from Troy. She plopped back down to sit on the couch, but there was no hiding that her eyes were intently flickering back to run over Troy. He was feeling a little hot and prickly under Gabriella's gaze. Or perhaps it was the tightness of the jeans and the leather jacket that was making him hot.

"What's in there?" Jason asked, gesturing to the plastic bag in Ryan's hand.

"Hairspray wax and other stying products. Time to give Mike a hair style."

Troy found himself with something other than Gabriella to focus on. He turned back to Ryan.

"Ryan, I appreciate your help, and I can see the benefit of a costume but HAIR STYLING?"

"Troy. You keep questioning my methods," Ryan said calmly. "I know you guys don't always take Sharpay and I seriously when it comes to performing. But she and I have been doing this just as long as you've been playing basketball, if not longer. If you were going to try to teach me how to play basketball, I would not question your methods. So for one last time, GO WITH ME HERE."

Troy sighed. "Fine."

Ryan gestured for Troy to sit on the chair in front of him and proceeded to style his hair. As he worked, an upbeat peppy pop song began ringing.

"What is that God awful noise?" Chad complained.

"Okay like everyone I know is here, who earth is calling me?" Gabriella pondered as she fished through her hand bag.

"No really, what the fuck is that song?"

"Taylor McKessie, keep your mouth shut," Gabriella warned, as she located her phone. "Hello? Oh, hey Jess. No that's fine."

"It's the techno remix of the song that she and Troy had to sing at the lodge on New Years," Ryan informed Chad.

Chad laughed. "That's cute."

Gabriella glared at Ryan, stepping over to hit him on the arm. Ryan didn't hesitate from slapping her back. Troy narrowed his eyes at the slight banter.

"Ow!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"You didn't tell me to keep my mouth shut," Ryan said defensively.

"No Ryan just hit me is all... I'm at his house. NO! You know that very well thank you," Gabriella said into her phone. "Oh okay... I'll just ask him."

She covered the mouth piece and turned to Ryan. "Jess has been trying to call you, she has an appointment after school on Wednesday and just wants to check whether we are still meeting on Wednesday lunch instead."

Ryan nodded. "That's right. Usual room."

Gabriella relayed the information to Jess. "Okay I'd better go... And you're so wrong about that. You are. I'm hanging up now. Bye..."

"Can I get a drink?" Troy complained.

"I won't be long I promise," Ryan said.

Gabriella, without even being asked, jumped up and headed toward the kitchen to fulfil Troy's request. Kelsi trailed behind her.

"What was that about on the phone?" Kelsi asked curiously. "With the, no, you know that very well, and you're so wrong about that?"

"Oh... Jess from the student council keeps going on about how me and Ryan have something going on. Which is clearly ridiculous because I'm rather infatuated with Troy."

Kelsi nodded. "Yes. That's a part of why."

"A part of?"

"Well, Ryan wouldn't exactly want to go out with you now, would he?"

Gabriella studied Kelsi carefully. "Are you saying..."

"That I know? Yeah."

"Ryan told you?"

"No. I just know. Hang around someone long enough and observe them checking out the male ballet dancers who audition for the musical and I kinda worked it out for myself."

"Oh. How did you know that I knew?"

"Just knew," Kelsi said simply.

"Does it bother you that he told me?"

Kelsi paused. "A little but not really. Ryan and I have worked together with the drama club for a while and been in similar circles, it's really got nothing to do with our friendship."

"Kelsi! I need your approval on Troy's hair!" Ryan's voice drifted in from the lounge area.

Gabriella picked up the can of soft drink. "Come on. We can talk about this later."

They returned to the lounge room and Gabriella handed the can to her ever grateful boyfriend.

"No no, that's not right," Kelsi said stubbornly.

"What do you mean, that's not right?" Ryan asked.

"This is my composition and I am telling you that this is not what Mike looks like. The costume is perfect. But that hair is dreadful."

"Then you style it!"

"Guys, I'm not a fucking Barbie doll," Troy said, becoming impatient.

"Technically that would be a Ken doll," Martha offered helpfully, from where Chad was currently losing to her in a game of Guitar Hero.

Ryan sighed. "Okay give me a second."

A few swoops of the comb later and he declared, "There."

"No," Kelsi said, just as stubbornly as before. "I can't explain why but I just know that isn't right."

"Oh goody. Everyone is here," a bored female voice said from behind.

Troy swivelled around to see Sharpay in the doorway, clutching onto a series of shopping bags.

"How was the sale?" Ryan asked.

"Fabulous. I got the latest Prada flip flops half price in the most adorable colour and my God what _are_ you doing?"

"Huh?"

She pointed at Troy. "What are you doing?" Sharpay demanded.

"Working out Mike's style."

"Well, that isn't right."

"Told you so," Kelsi said smugly, not even taking a moment to contemplate the irony that it was she and Sharpay who were in agreement and than Ryan was out on a limb.

Ryan's frustration boiled over; he dramatically threw his arms in the air and proclaimed, "That's it then, I give up."

"Who ever thought my hair could be the centre of such controversy and drama," Troy contemplated out loud.

Ryan stalked over to sit next to Gabriella, a pout on his face. She put her arm around his shoulders consolingly.

"I really don't think that Troy's hair is going to make or break the audition," she said tactfully.

Sharpay set her shopping bags to the floor and came over to study Troy's hair. "This is atrocious."

"Thanks Sharpay," Troy said sarcastically.

"Your normal hair would be better than this. How much product did you put in here, Ry?" Sharpay went to run her fingers through Troy's hair, but suddenly retreated. "Umm… do you mind?" she asked, a little awkwardly. The connotation was _will you get in trouble if I touch you?_

Troy's eyes shifted sideways to where Gabriella was sitting with Ryan.

"It's fine," he told Sharpay. "If it means that we can get this ridiculous part of today's rehearsal over."

It took Sharpay less than ten minutes to rid the hair of Ryan's disaster and style it perfectly. Kelsi looked positively delighted.

"Yes! THAT is it. Perfect perfect perfect. Sharpay is officially the queen of hair styling and you are officially required in the Troy prep tomorrow afternoon."

Sharpay narrowed her eyes. "You just assume that I am available? I do have a very busy schedule, you know. I do believe that I might have a prior engagement and…"

"No you don't. You have rehearsal with the rest of us and as president of the drama club you have to be at the call back anyway," Ryan said.

Sharpay sighed.

"You know I still don't see how my hair should have anything to do with whether I get the part," Troy said, hoping this would seal the deal. It seemingly worked.

Sharpay glared at him. "Image is everything Troy. I suppose I am available to help. Seeing as I so don't want that Theodore twit to have a major role in my final fall production at East High."

Troy stood up. "Fantastic, organise it all."

"Where are you going?" Ryan asked. "We're about to get ready for the dance segment."

"I need to pee if that's okay Ryan," Troy said a little testily.

Ryan relented. "Oh. Yeah sure, go for it. Don't get changed though. You'll now have to get used to dancing in those clothes."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Ryan was questioning whether Troy had drowned in the toilet bowl.

"Gabriella, can you go find him?" he asked.

"Umm... sometimes people just take a long time to use the bathroom," she pointed out, not wanting to be vulgar.

"He said he was peeing. He would have said he needed to use the bathroom. Please go."

Gabriella pulled Ryan aside, out of earshot from the group. Not that the group would have been paying attention anyway. Guitar Hero and a platter of food held everyone's attention. The styling session had officially lost even Kelsi's interest - her real interest was in the final part of Ryan's schedule, going over Troy's solo.

"I think you're stressing him out a little," Gabriella said tactfully.

The truth was that she had witnessed Troy's increasing frustration; which only fuelled the amount of pressure Ryan was placing upon him; in turn increasing frustration levels - it was a vicious cycle.

Ryan sighed. "I know I'm being a bit crazy here but... I'm doing this for him. I thought he might appreciate that."

Gabriella had suspected as much. "You're doing this for him to try and prove that there's nothing going on with you and I?"

"I'm doing this so that he can see that I am actively willing to help him. And that a person who is actively willing to help someone wouldn't exactly be out to try to steal their girlfriend," Ryan admitted. "I know you say that you and he sorted it but to be honest with you, I don't think the whole issue has disappeared."

Gabriella sighed. "I've been in denial about that."

"Obviously."

"I'll go find him. You know, if you just came out, you would make our lives a whole lot easier."

"Your life might be made easier, but not mine."

Gabriella proceeded to wander outside. Knowing Troy, if he was indeed in a state of being frustrated or stressed, then he wouldn't be hiding in a bathroom. He'd be out getting fresh air. And surely enough, she found him out on the tennis court - the tennis court with a basketball hoop at the end.

"Wildcat?" Gabriella said questioningly.

"Who the fuck does that guy think he is?" Troy demanded snippily.

"Uh..."

Troy sighed. "I know he's your friend and all but I don't think I can take this. I have no problem with being guided, and for all of this week he's been fantastic. To the point that I'm thinking if it's a case of, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. But today, he's like... Sharpay. On crack. With a penis."

"I don't think that's the intent."

Troy took a deep breath. "I just needed a break. I'm not out here crying or stressing. Like... this isn't the be all and end all for me. He's making it seem like if I don't get this part, HIS universe will be over. If Theodore happens to transform into a human being and perform in character, then I'm fucked and I accepted that a few days ago. I'll be cut but I won't cry over it."

"I don't think that this is about you getting the part, Troy," Gabriella said.

"So it is a, keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Troy said somewhat bitterly.

"No," Gabriella said firmly. "Maybe, keep your friends close so that they realise that they are in fact friends and NOT enemies?"

Troy was silent.

"Do you and I need to have another talk about this?" Gabriella asked hesitantly.

Troy abruptly took a jump shot - and missed wildly, the ball falling short of the hoop by over a foot.

"Fucking jeans. I can't even jump properly."

"Troy?" Gabriella persisted.

"Let's go back inside," Troy said. "I'm good. Just needed some air."

"We do need to talk about this, don't we."

It was a statement, not a question. And it was a statement that Troy couldn't deny. They had both been happy to remain in denial about the matter for a while and pretend that the extent to which they'd already addressed the matter was satisfactory. But now that she'd said the words out loud, Troy couldn't pretend that she was wrong.

Troy sighed. "Can it wait? I don't want Ryan to get even more testy than he already is."

Gabriella nodded. "It can wait."

He nodded, and picked up the leather jacket he had tossed haphazardly onto the ground.

"Troy?"

"Yeah?"

Gabriella stepped toward him, and took his hand in hers.

"I love you," she said earnestly.

Troy took a breath, and nodded. "I love you too."

"We're still going to have to talk about it."

"I know. And... we will. I promise."

* * *

In the short time that the pair had been outside, a new addition had been made to the 'support group', in the form of Monica.

"Hey Mon, sup?" Troy greeted her.

"Looking hot Troy," Monica said with a smirk, looking up and down at his outfit. "Came to pick up Zeke and heard you're about to perform a little dance for everyone, couldn't resist but to stick around."

"Why don't you just come to the show when I get this part and you can see it then," he suggested.

"But I'm already here now."

"Are you ready? If you're not... umm... I guess you can take a bit more of a break," Ryan said, somewhat hesitantly.

"Nah man it's all good. Just needed fresh air. All the fucking hairspray you were using was making me giddy. All ready to go now. I put on my dancing shoes and all."

"You haven't changed your shoes though," Jason pointed out.

* * *

Troy was exhausted. Between Ryan in his hyperactive super coach form; and the reappearance of Sharpay who had remained hanging around to 'assist' - or rather, to criticise - he was completely and utterly fucked. There was no other word for it.

"You had this perfect when I choreographed it the other night! You're an athlete, dance is sport - why is your leg flopping all over the place?!" Sharpay demanded.

"It looked good to me," Monica offered. "Especially for someone with no dance training."

"What would you know?" Sharpay snapped.

"Uh, I do study dance just like you guys."

"Cheerleading is not dancing."

"It is a form of dance and even if you say it isn't, I have studied 'real' dance since I was seven so I think I know what I'm talking about," Monica retorted.

Zeke's eyes were moving between the two girls, his girlfriend and the ex unrequited love of his life.

"Okay, no arguments are necessary here," Gabriella said, trying to be the peacemaker.

"I'm just saying, don't be so hard on him. I don't know hardly anything about this show, but from what I've heard, Mike wouldn't dance technically perfect anyway," Monica pointed out. "It makes sense for the style to be a bit rough around the edges."

Troy collapsed on the couch. "I take back everything I said when I wanted you to leave. I agree with what you just said. Look, at least I have the steps memorised."

"True. You can't have a sheet of paper with the dance steps written on the floor," Martha mused.

"Okay can we go now?" Zeke complained.

Monica slapped him on the arm. "Don't be rude."

"Why is it rude to want to spend alone time with my gorgeous wonderful girlfriend?" Zeke asked, smiling at her, and leaning over to kiss her softly. He whispered something into her ear.

Sharpay rolled her eyes, Chad and Jason made mature gagging noises while everyone else just sat and waited patiently for the display to end.

"Okay, we'll be off now," Monica announced, standing up immediately.

"Troy man, good work, see you tomorrow everyone," Zeke said in a hurry, practically pushing Monica toward the door.

Chad snorted. "Have fun rooting."

"We will," Zeke called over his shoulder.

"Ryan, do I have time to grab a drink?" Troy asked.

Ryan nearly made a comment about being behind schedule due to his disappearance and the hair kerfuffle, but then relented. "Um, sure."

Chad jumped up, following Troy into the kitchen.

"Man, I swear Zeke and Monica are like fucking rabbits," Chad complained.

"You're just jealous."

Troy glanced around, dawning on him that he finally was alone in a room with Chad.

"Uh can I talk to you about something quickly?" Troy asked.

"Sure man, what's up?"

Troy paused. Time was of the essence. The way things had been lately, he might never get a chance to talk to Chad alone. "Err... okay. I'm just gonna ask. Why didn't you tell me that David split?"

Chad's eyes widened, completely shocked. He'd sensed that Troy wanted to talk about something relatively serious but he wouldn't have picked that one in a million years. "How did you know? Did Taylor tell you?"

Troy blinked. "Great, you told Taylor and not me. No, my mom said something about it, like she assumed that I knew about it."

"Stupid gossiping parents," Chad muttered.

"Dude, seriously, why didn't you tell me?" Troy asked.

Chad shrugged. "Dunno. It happened during the week and you were busy with training and rehearsals and Gab... it wasn't a personal thing. I can't stand the guy, you know that, so it's all good really."

"Troy, hurry up!" Kelsi's voice called.

"Chad... I'm never too busy for you man," Troy said, very seriously.

Kelsi's head popped into the kitchen. "Troy! Come on, let's get this over with. I know you need to get home to study."

Chad sighed. "Go on, it's cool."

"Dude..."

"You're needed. You know. Important stuff to do."

And with that, Chad strode out of the kitchen and left Troy behind.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So I am really bad with describing outfits to the point that I don't bother most of the time. I did a whole Homecoming dance chapter without a single specific mention of what any of them were wearing (other than in the context of Gabriella undoing Troy's belt and removing his tie... maybe I should acquire a fashion editor...) but please, please tell me that you got that the _Mike_ costume was based off the _Elle_ photoshoot and the rolling around in the grass with V shots?


	26. Chapter 26

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. A nd make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I had intended to post this chapter a little sooner but I've got family here for this reunion thing so I've been doing lots of stuff with them. And then when the day I set aside specifically for editing this chapter came around, I just wasn't in a writing place. Apologies. Also for these reasons, normally I'm pretty good with responding to various e-mails and PM's and review replies and detailed reviews that people leave (if you're one of the people who leave such things, you know who you are) but just haven't had the time/energy. Don't take it personally. I'm still not really in a writing place and as a result the flat first draft of this chapter still falls a bit flat after my editing. I'm just going with it because I've now been staring at the chapter so long that even if my mood magically did a 180 I still don't think there would be much more I could do.

If at any point your eyes are drifting closed, just pretend Troy takes his shirt off, okay? Or maybe he breaks out with a random karate chop. Haw.

Gratitude to Ayen and Martin for the awesomely fabulous job they do previewing my work - sorry Ayen, I don't think this picked up the way you suggested it needed to.

* * *

**Chapter 26**

By Sunday afternoon at 4pm, Troy was feeling like he'd spent the last 24 hours straight at Ryan's house, being poked and prodded like a science experiment gone wrong. The reality was he'd only been there for about four and a half hours. Taking out the small break he'd had and the disastrous styling session – which, as annoying as it was, hadn't been particularly physically draining – he'd had about three and a half hours of crazy rehearsal, on top of the two hours of basketball training in the morning. Additionally that afternoon, Troy had managed to get angry at Ryan; set up a future 'deep' discussion with his girlfriend; and confront his best friend about his intentional deception of the recent progressions in his home life. It was the latter of the three that was now nagging at Troy the most. He didn't appreciate that his best friend of 12 years had brushed aside the fact that he hadn't told Troy something major within his life.

Nevertheless, the show - or the rehearsal - had to go on. With the final segment of the afternoon being to run through Troy's musical solo. Kelsi was excited - finally they were within her realm of expertise. Her passion was music. It just so happened that the best forum to have her original music heard within the high school environment was through the drama club, with its musical theatre oriented supervisor Ms. Darbus. But the acting and costumes and make up and dancing were of little meaning to Kelsi. The whole gruelling day at Ryan's had been about this very moment.

"Okay, so the way that we're going to go about…" Ryan began to announce, outlining the proceedings for the solo run through.

Kelsi somewhat timidly cleared her throat. Ryan paused.

"Um, Kelsi, why don't you take over for this part?" Ryan suggested. "I'm sick of being in charge here."

Kelsi gave him a small smile, knowing that he was in fact revelling within his position of power. She appreciated that he was relinquishing control and handing her the reigns.

"Gee thanks Ryan," she said teasingly. "Since you've had nothing to do with the preparation for this part of the audition. In fact Troy and I have spent hours upon hours rehearsing."

"And how I've enjoyed those hours away from Ryan the tyrant," Troy joked.

"You'll barely recognise what we've done to it," Kelsi added.

"Done to it?" Ryan repeated.

Troy and Kelsi exchanged a glance. "I gave Kelsi some ideas about how I thought we could make the song better. So it's now a little different," Troy said casually. He grabbed a chair and plonked it down. "Jason, could you hand me the guitar?"

Jason looked a little miffed, and hesitantly handed over the instrument. He'd been having fun plucking away at the strings.

"Since when do you play guitar?" Gabriella asked incredulously.

"Well my dad has a beat up crappy out of tune acoustic guitar that I would have a go at every so often over the last few months. But with lessons attached - since Monday."

"You've learnt the guitar in a week?" Ryan asked in disbelief.

Troy snorted. "Hardly. I know a handful of chords. Enough to look semi impressive tomorrow afternoon."

Kelsi sat down at the baby grand piano, running her fingers lovingly over the keys.

"Ryan and Sharpay, when you inherit all of the belongings in this house, can you promise me that you will give me this piano," she said whimsically.

"You'll be rich and successful and famous with your own music and be able to buy your own baby grand piano before that happens," Ryan declared.

"Okay so for everyone else's benefit. In this scene, Mike goes to Nina's house when he knows that she is home alone, that Nate isn't there. Mike is standing in the backyard calling up to her balcony, but she is refusing to come out. So he sings this song. Ready Troy?"

Troy nodded.

The song in its original composition had been a semi up beat rock song, where Mike was crooning, serenading Nina. Troy had talked it over with Kelsi and convinced her to change it somewhat. So here was Troy, sitting still, plucking away and singing soulfully to Kelsi's background music.

When Troy finished, he allowed himself to look at Gabriella.

"Are you crying?" he asked softly.

"No," Gabriella said, sniffling.

"You are!"

"That was just... really beautiful," she admitted.

"It was really good man," Jason said in admiration.

Troy shrugged. "If I get the part it'll be better. I'll be able to play the whole song, so it'll be more real, just Mike and his guitar, no piano because obviously there wouldn't be a piano if he was serenading Nina in the backyard. And I won't be looking down as much. It'll be at the balcony."

"And then at Nina," Kelsi added.

"What if I cry on the night? That so doesn't work with Nina's reaction!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"What is Nina's reaction?" Taylor asked. "Because if I were Nina, I would be taking the boy to go and make out with him."

"Don't tell them! They have to come to see it to know what happens," Kelsi said quickly.

They ran through the song a couple more times, with minor flaws being pointed out and corrected.

"I think you're ready," Kelsi declared.

* * *

Just as they were all getting ready to head home, Gabriella's ring tone sounded yet again.

"You're popular today," Martha commented.

Gabriella glanced at the screen, furrowing her brow at the number she didn't recognise.

"Hello?" she said questioningly.

_"Why hello there Nina,"_ the voice said.

"Sorry you have a wrong number, there's no Nina here," Gabriella said, and was about to hang up when the penny dropped. "Theodore," she said grimly, sending a panicked look in Troy's direction.

_"How are you this afternoon?"_

"HOW did you get my number?" she asked curiously.

_"It's on the drama club contact list I got from Ryan."_

If looks could kill, Ryan Evans would be a dead man.

"Of course my number is on the drama club contact list you got from Ryan," she repeated with gritted teeth, glaring at Ryan.

Ryan winced and mouthed, 'Sorry.'

_"Anyway so I just thought we should establish our social relationship seeing as we might be spending a lot of time together as of about __6:30__ tomorrow. You know, after the call back. Obviously you want __Troy__ to get the part but you never know what might happen."_

Gabriella cleared her throat. "You know they say that you shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch. Look I'm kinda busy at the moment..."

_"Could I call you later?"_

"I am busy all night. The whole night. So I can't talk. Sorry. Umm, I'll see you tomorrow."

And she swiftly hung up her cell phone. She waited for three seconds, allowing herself to breathe, before screeching, "RYAN!! How could you!"

"I didn't know he was gonna call you! And he _is_ allowed to have the drama club contact list and I _did_ tell you when you joined that your number would go onto the contact list and when you joined you _did_ know that _he_ was in the drama club."

"When did you join the drama club?" Troy asked, focusing on the wrong point of the whole matter.

"Just last week. Ryan convinced me since I'm practically a member anyway. They get half price movie tickets and stuff," Gabriella told him, a calm washing over her to answer his question.

"Right. Ryan convinced you," he muttered under his breath.

His response was so quiet that only the person sitting next to him heard him - that person being Sharpay.

"Really?" Chad asked, ears perking up. "I should join."

"You do actually have to come to meetings and stuff also," Ryan pointed out.

"Oh. Okay. Scratch that."

"Why is he just randomly calling me anyway?" Gabriella mused.

"Well duh," Sharpay spoke up.

"Well duh what?"

"He likes you," Sharpay said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Who is this kid and where does he live so we can go beat him up for Troy," Jason said automatically.

"Jase, you know how there are rules about not hitting girls and stuff?" Troy said.

"Yeah?"

"That rule applies to this kid."

Jason laughed. "No competition then, hey?"

"Good thing or we'd have to put up with more of Troy's jealous ramblings," Chad said.

"Troy's jealous ramblings?" Gabriella enquired with a cheeky smile.

"Do not exist. At all," Troy insisted.

"He was all cut when Miss Darbus put you with Lenny during drama last week. He kept glaring at Lenny throughout the class."

"I don't know whether to be annoyed or find this adorable," Gabriella mused.

"Okay the guy was like staring at her ass and... besides... there were no jealous ramblings," Troy said defensively. "Maybe a snide comment or two, but I am not a jealous person by nature."

Jason and Chad exploded into laughter. "Nah man. Not in the slightest," Chad said, amused.

"Man that's so funny I think I might pee my pants. Or maybe I just need to pee," Jason pondered, before wandering in the direction of the bathroom.

"Kelsi, so you still are okay with me borrowing your guitar to practice?" Troy queried, motioning to the guitar. "I should just get you to look at my dad's old guitar and tell me if the whole thing is just fucked or if it could be tuned."

"You should. But in the mean time, yes you can borrow my guitar again. I remind you once more, you break it and I'll break you. I might look small but I am surprisingly strong," she said with a smile.

"Noted."

* * *

Troy headed upstairs to change out of his costume, along the way grabbing Gabriella by the arm to bring her with him.

"Where are you taking me?"

"I'm taking you upstairs to ravish you," Troy replied cheekily.

"Ha. I wish. I mean. You wish. I mean..."

"We both wish?" he suggested.

Gabriella blushed. "However in the Evans household, perhaps not a great idea."

"So when you told Theodore you're busy tonight, are you?"

"Umm I have some homework for Creative Writing but I'm free for a while."

"Fancy... doing something?"

Gabriella smiled slyly. "Are you insinuating something?"

"Actually I'm not," Troy said honestly. "I'd like to umm... I dunno. Talk?"

"You and I, talk? We do that these days?" she said cheekily.

Troy thwacked her gently on the arm. "Yes I believe we do. On occasion. Not very often. But it happens."

* * *

Back downstairs, Taylor cornered Chad who was scouring through the collection of PlayStation games that Sharpay and Ryan had at their disposal. Neither of the twins played any of them, they simply owned them because Sharpay just bought them because she had to own everything.

"Did you want to grab dinner?" Taylor asked Chad impulsively.

"Err... I'm kinda broke," he admitted.

"Then how about you just come over and hang for a while?" Taylor suggested.

Chad nodded. After all, he had promised that things were going to go back to normal. Well… as normal as normal could be. "Okay. Cool. That'd be awesome."

* * *

Jason returned from the bathroom and glanced around. The room had emptied, the two couples having left. "Wow, they took off quickly," he remarked.

"Gee I wonder why," Martha said with a knowing smirk.

"Good work guys, leave me without a fucking lift," Jason grumbled.

"I can take you," Martha offered.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, you're like less than five minutes away from my place, it's no trouble at all." Martha turned to Kelsi. "You sure you're gonna hang here for a while?"

Kelsi nodded. "It's fine, Ryan is gonna drive me home later."

"Okay." Martha smiled at Ryan. "Thanks for an awesome afternoon Ry, it was great. I'm glad you made us all come."

"I'm glad you all came, it was fun," he said, returning her smile.

"See you tomorrow, Kelsi," Jason said, flashing her a small smile.

Kelsi returned the smile. "Bye."

Ryan walked Jason and Martha to the door and returned to the lounge room, collapsing onto the couch beside Kelsi.

"That went well, don't you think?" Ryan commented.

"If Troy doesn't get the part, I might boycott the show," Kelsi declared.

Sharpay entered the room, Boi trailing behind her.

"Peace at last," Sharpay declared. "Do your friends have to be here like EVERY day?"

"I am still here," Kelsi said, amused.

Sharpay considered this.

"You're different."

"I am?"

Sharpay shrugged. She sat down primly on the arm chair and scooped Boi up from the floor to sit on the arm of the chair. "I suppose so. Anyway while you're here, I wanted to talk to you about Esmeralda's solo."

Kelsi closed her eyes. She had gone the entire time that the script had been released without Sharpay having some sort of critique. She had been naive to think that something wasn't coming.

"Yes?" Kelsi asked, trying to sound pleasant as she prepared herself for the onslaught.

"I wanted to set up a time to work on it with you before I have my first official session with Ms. Darbus."

"Oh," Kelsi said, surprised. "Is that all?"

"Uh, yeah," Sharpay said, looking at her strangely.

"Well that's fine. When are you available?"

* * *

Martha and Jason were cruising along the main street of Albuquerque - which adjoined the affluent area where the Evans mansion was, to the down to earth nice neighbourhood that the majority of their group lived within.

"Man I'm a loser. Zeke's off imitating rabbits during mating season, Troy and Chad are... well not quite doing that but not far from. And here I am."

Martha rolled her eyes. She could almost take offense to the implication that hanging around with her made him a loser, if she didn't know that he was very specifically referring to his lack of a girlfriend.

"Don't you live the ideal lifestyle? Single, hot, varsity basketballer with girls at your disposal everywhere?"

"Girls at my disposal? Hardly," Jason scoffed. The he paused, dawning on him what she had just said. "Hang on, did you just say that I'm hot?"

Martha blushed. "Oh... errr... well. I did. I didn't mean it like THAT though. I actually kinda like someone else."

"You do? Who?" Jason asked eagerly, wanting to be the one with the scoop for once.

"Not saying," Martha said firmly.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"But seriously Jason... stop saying you're a loser because you're not."

"I am too."

"Why, because you can't even ask out Kelsi?" Martha asked bluntly.

"How did you know that I wanted to ask out Kelsi?" Jason asked, slightly alarmed.

"EVERYONE knows you like Kelsi. Just like everyone knows that Kelsi likes you."

He sighed. "Yeah but..."

"I don't know what you're so worried about. Just ask her out."

"But what if..."

"No what if! Ask her out!"

* * *

Troy and Gabriella had made their way to one of the few Starbucks in town that hadn't been closed down recently. Troy had been dubious when Gabriella had suggested going for coffee – after all, neither of them drank coffee; unless you counted one of Gabriella's flavoured lattes with so many raw sugars added that the coffee flavour was completely drowned out. Gabriella had insisted that Troy should try a cream based frappachino and that it would indeed change his life. As the couple had staked their claim in a couch in the back corner, and Troy brought the straw to his lips to take a tentative sip of his caramel goodness. His expression lit up.

"Wow. This is... really really amazing."

"Told you so," Gabriella said, somewhat smugly.

"Aren't we sophisticated, sitting at Starbucks," he remarked.

Gabriella giggled. "Starbucks is like the new hang out place. You must have missed the memo."

"Must have. Too busy singing and dancing."

"And learning to play the guitar."

"That too."

Gabriella sensed that something was troubling him - why else would her seventeen year old somewhat sex crazed boyfriend have suggested they go somewhere to 'talk' when he could have suggested they try to find somewhere private.

"What's up?" she said softly, running her finger along his cheek.

"Do you think it's natural for people who have been friends for ages to drift apart?" Troy asked.

Gabriella paused. "Is this a general question or are you being specific about someone?"

"Keep it general for now."

"I think it's natural that as we get older, we change. And that sometimes as you change and meet new people, that you will develop separate interests and therefore spend less time together. That doesn't necessarily equate to meaning any less to the other person."

"Hmm."

"Chad?" Gabriella asked.

He nodded. "You know David, his mom's boyfriend? He left them."

"He did? When?" Gabriella asked, shocked.

"During the week. Chad didn't tell me. And if my mom hadn't said something... I don't know when Chad would have told me. If at all."

"Did you ask him about it?"

"Yeah. Today. He made this comment about me being busy and that he didn't want to bother me with it or something."

"Well, you have been busy," Gabriella said, trying to be neutral.

"But he also kinda just blew it off, made it sound all casual like it was no big deal since he doesn't even like him."

"Also true," Gabriella pointed out. "He really didn't like him."

"I bet he told Taylor about it," Troy said softly, clearly a bit cut.

Gabriella hesitated. This was where complications came in when you were in a friendship group dating one another. Gabriella was sympathetic to both sides of the situation. Gabriella found some things easier to take about with Taylor than she did with Troy. Just as she found other things easier to discuss with Troy. She sympathised with Troy feeling left out about Chad not telling him something. And yet she also felt a sense of loyalty to Taylor, knowing that Taylor would prod at Chad until he told her something.

"Last year, when you were having the problems with the Roadrunners team, who did you talk to about it in detail?" Gabriella prompted.

Troy paused. "You," he admitted.

"And when you're stressing about scholarships and stuff?"

"Also you. But... I had reasons for wanting to talk to you about it and not to Chad or the guys."

"Maybe Chad had reasons for not wanting to talk to you about David."

Troy exhaled. "Why are you so smart?

"I think you need to talk to him about it again," Gabriella suggested. "Maybe there's more going on than you realise."

"Maybe."

* * *

Chad and Taylor were lying curled up next to one another in Taylor's bed. She was smiling contently. She'd missed the feeling of his warm skin against hers. Chad's hands and lips had the ability to bring her to a state of complete ecstasy that she never even realised was possible to exist.

"It's been too long since we've done that," Taylor murmured, running her hand along his arm.

"I know."

There were moments that left Chad questioning what Taylor really thought of him. Like when she was constantly nagging at him about his algebra, or making joking comments about how he must have been hit in the head with too many basketballs. The moments that brought back all of the insecurities she had arisen in him, the moments that made him think about who he was and whether he was good enough for this amazing woman.

But then there were also moments when she would say something clever, when she would make a sarcastic remark, when she would grasp at his length with a look of complete and utter adoration in her eyes - when he remembered why it was that he didn't have the energy to make an issue out of his insecurities. When she provided a sanctuary from the chaos in the wider world.

"What happened with you and Troy today?" Taylor asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Things were all fine and then you came back from the kitchen and suddenly you two went all weird."

"Oh? I didn't know it was noticeable."

"I noticed. I notice everything."

_Not everything,_ Chad thought.

"Troy found out about David."

"You still hadn't told him?"

"It was only during the week."

"Yeah but you and Troy text each other the minute stuff happens normally, don't you?"

Chad shrugged. "I guess."

"Was he upset?"

"I guess. I... it's complicated. But it'll sort itself out. That's what me and Troy do. We get pissed at each other. It blows over."

"I don't know if that's healthy. To just... let things simmer."

"Don't you worry about me and Troy. Let's just worry about me and you. I meant what I said. I wanna try to get things back to normal. Things are crazy enough without adding the complication of not having you. I need something constant."

Taylor smiled sympathetically. "I get you, I really do. And I know you've been in a weird headspace which I totally get. Senior year, it's doing it to everyone. But you know what, we can work this out. You and I will be fine. And basketball season looks like it's gonna go well. And you've got track training starting up soon, which is good. And we can sit down and work on that nasty algebra assignment this week. It'll all be fine."

Chad returned her warm smile. Of course it wasn't the basketball or the algebra he'd been referring to. But of course that would be all that mattered to Chad Danforth for crying out loud, right?

Chad's phone rang. He glanced at the screen, seeing it was his home number.

"Yo... hey Jayme... again? Fuck. I mean... damn. You didn't hear me say that! ... No no that's fine... I'll sort it... I won't be long. Okay see you soon..."

He turned to Taylor. "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to take off. Um, my mom seems to have gone out and left Jayme with money to buy dinner because there's no food in the house. Well, left Jayme with money so that I can go and buy dinner."

Well, his mom was at yet another late night shift at the restaurant and left a message asking Chad if he had the money to get dinner. Close enough. Only a slight twisting of the truth.

"That's okay," Taylor said assuringly. "I understand."

"Next weekend, I swear we will go on and real date. Me and you, no distractions yeah?"

"Absolutely."

He could do this. He could show her that he was worthwhile.

* * *

As Troy was driving them home from Starbucks, a part of Gabriella wanted to bring up 'the Ryan issue' and get all deep discussion points over and done with. Another part of her was desperate to let sleeping dogs lie. However that was exactly what she had been doing since they'd last talked about it - leaving it be, hoping the issue would blow over. It had become glaringly evident through the progress of the day that it hadn't blown over. It was simmering, waiting for something to bring it to boiling point.

"Do we need to talk about what happened with you getting shitty with Ryan today?" Gabriella finally asked.

Troy glanced over at her. "You tell me. Do we?"

"Umm... well I'm not the one with the issue here," Gabriella pointed out.

"But you're the one who obviously has commentary on the issue," Troy returned.

A part of her understood where he was coming from. She knew that jealous tendencies were natural - she would be lying if she said that she was totally completely 100 percent fine with the closeness of Troy's friendship with Paula. But ultimately she trusted him. A part of her wanted to scream at him _Ryan is gay, you moron! _but she knew that it shouldn't matter. That he should trust her regardless.

Gabriella's lack of immediate response, together with the clouded expression on her face, was enough to cause Troy to suddenly pull over into a parking spot by the park they were driving past. He turned off the ignition and looked at Gabriella expectantly.

"There's nothing going on between Ryan and I," Gabriella said softly, but adamantly.

"I know there's nothing going on but... it doesn't change that I don't entirely trust him," Troy responded.

"Ryan doesn't like me that way."

"How do you know?"

"I know."

"But seriously Gabriella, he could. There's a chance."

Gabriella sighed. "Okay I'm going to humour you for a moment. Do you trust me when I say that it's you that I love, that Ryan is just my friend."

"Yes. I trust you completely, totally, 100 percent. This isn't about my trusting or not trusting you."

"Then it shouldn't matter what Ryan feels. There's enough complexity in our lives, don't go making an issue out of something that there is absolutely no issue with."

Troy exhaled. He knew that she was right, as per usual.

"Troy? Ryan has become really important to me. Yes he's a guy and therefore you find this weird. But... it happened. Over unusual circumstances yes, but it happened. And it would mean a lot to me if I could leave the two of you in the same room without thinking I'll be leaving you feeling all weird and tense."

Troy was silent. He could hear the pleading in her tone.

"Okay," he said simply. "I'll... I'll work on it."

"That's all I can ask I guess.

"So ummm...you really liked the leather jacket, didn't you?" Troy asked with a smirk, feeling a desperate need to lift the tension in the vehicle.

Gabriella knew exactly what he was doing, but was more than willing to go along with it.

"I did. Once upon a time it seemed that all it took was a nice suit to impress me. Now leather jackets and smelly basketball uniforms seem to do the trick."

"Maybe it's about who is wearing them?" Troy suggested, somewhat cockily.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, but she knew very well that there was a whole lot of truth to his statement. "Maybe. But the leather jacket is cool. Even the math girl approves."

"Math girl?" Troy asked, his confusion evident.

"You know, math girl, super vixen?" she reminded him.

"Isn't Chad full of shit sometimes," he laughed.

"Not necessarily."

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"He kind of... well... somewhat was on the mark, really. Maybe a bit overdramatised but... nevertheless, on the mark."

"Interesting. Do continue," Troy pried, fascinated by her revelation.

"It's just like how... how it was you who made me realise that I can be whoever I wanna be. Do whatever I want to do. For a long time I was so busy getting used to the idea that Gabriella could really be in musicals annd in decathlon teams and be friends with cheerleaders and date the basketball captain - all at the same time. And I was working out what all that means for me. But now, the more that we are together... you know... the more comfortable I feel with what we're doing, with that side of me. I'm not used to expressing... to expressing all that stuff. But the more I'm around you, the more I feel like it's okay to just... to let go."

"To give in to the super vixen?" Troy supplied, a cheeky grin.

"Okay super vixen might be the term for Taylor but I would never label myself in that way."

"No, you'll never be a super vixen. You'll always be Gabriella. That's all you need to be."

* * *

Monday arrived sooner than Troy would have liked. He was beginning to regret ever allowing Chad to force him to audition. However as Chad had rightfully pointed out, if Troy hadn't really wanted to audition in the first place, he wouldn't have practically ran out of practice the minute he was given permission to do so. Nevertheless, Troy's nerves were building throughout the day. His method of dealing with them was to fill his day with jam packed action; at first it was remaining in his truck with Gabriella making out until the last minute possible to go into school before homeroom. Next it was studying frantically in the cafeteria throughout lunch. Just as he was completing question four, a familiar voice spoke from behind.

"Hello there Mr Bolton, surprised you're not practicing."

Troy recognised the voice. A part of him wanted to ignore the guy but Troy had been brought up with manners and had to at least be polite. He turned around.

"Hey Theodore. Same to yourself."

"Since you will be pressed at time, arriving straight from your basketball training and all, I would like to volunteer to be the first to audition. This will also provide me with time to set up during your practice."

"Uh sure," Troy said absentmindedly, not really listening. He was a lot more intent upon the homework assignment that sat in front of him that was due next period.

"Splendid. Break a leg!"

As Theodore walked away, Troy thought about what he had said.

"Set up? What is there to set up? Do I have to set anything up?" Troy asked, alarmed.

"No, you're fine. Do you want to go over the dance again during free period?" Ryan asked.

"Or the song?" Kelsi added.

Troy shook his head. "I was gonna go shoot some hoops. Truth is, if I'm not ready by now, I won't be ready."

* * *

**"**It's crunch time guys. 90 minutes to prepare for our second game Wednesday night against Crossville High. Not once in the five years I've been coaching this team have we lost to Crossville High. Is that going to change on Wednesday night?"

"NO!" the boys shouted.

"You got that right. I do have some good news for you. I've been told that as of next Monday, the areas of the math block that experienced minor damage should be ready for classes to go back; and a couple of demountable classrooms will be arriving on the back of the oval. Meaning.."

"We get our gym back!" Jason cheered.

"You bet we do. And then there will be nothing standing between the Wildcats and back to back championships!"

Troy was on fire. Basketball served as the perfect final distraction from his nervousness.

He was so focused that he didn't even realise that they had run five minutes over. He sprinted into the locker rooms, took the quickest shower of his life and turned to change into the carefully constructed outfit. His thighs were somewhat larger than Ryan's and it had been a struggle to get the skinny leg jeans on the day before. Now, after exercising leading to expanded muscles - it was going to prove almost impossible.

* * *

Sharpay was standing outside the gymnasium, tapping her foot impatiently and glancing at the time on her Blackberry. She'd allowed herself to be roped into the 'Troy to play Mike' pep squad preparation team, and here he was, not even appreciating that she was taking time out of her day to help him. She marched inside, and went straight into the locker room.

"Put it away boys," she called out. "Troy Bolton, where are you?"

"He's in there," a kid Sharpay had never seen in her life informed her, gesturing toward a room up the corridor.

Sharpay marched straight in - and was provided with a lovely view of Troy's underwear covered ass as he was struggling to pull up the jeans.

"What ARE you doing?" she snapped. "You're late."

"Sharpay! I'm kinda not dressed here," Troy yelped, embarrassed at his state of undress.

"Oh please, your normal jeans hang down at about that length, I've seen your underwear before."

Sharpay's presence provided Troy with the strength to pull the jeans up, and zip them snugly closed.

"Now that I'm here I might as well do this in here. Sit," she ordered, pointing to the bench.

Troy wasn't about to object. He sat down, and allowed Sharpay to mould his hair to her liking.

"Why are you helping me?" Troy asked suddenly.

Sharpay cleared her throat. "Because Theodore is a twit and I prefer to minimise my time around idiots."

"No really," Troy persisted.

Sharpay sighed. When she'd tried to blow off his question, she knew that her response had been thin. Anyone else might have let it slide. Troy seemed to have suddenly developed this ability to make her want to communicate honestly with him. Or maybe it was nothing to do with Troy's abilities and all about her own brain.

"Because... because I think you should get the part," she said honestly. "Because... even after everything that I did over summer, you've still been nice to me and stuff. With you know, like standing up for me to Matsui when he wanted to cancel the show. I wouldn't be surprised if you hated me. Like everyone else."

"Hey, hate is an extreme word. Besides, summer all worked out fine. Because of you, I made some connections. Your dad seems to like me and he's not a bad person to have on your side."

"It wasn't because of me Troy. It was because of you. I didn't make anything up. I just... introduced you. And you were yourself and that's all you needed to be to impress people..." She cleared her throat. "FYI, so totally over you."

"Uh... that's good," Troy said, a little awkwardly.

"Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Hypothetically speaking, if... if it wasn't for Gabriella..."

Troy exhaled. There was something in her tone, something hopeful that concerned him. "Sharpay..."

"No really I am over you, I'm just curious. Would it have been different?"

"You want the truth?" Troy asked.

"Yes."

He bit his lip. He hated this. It's that question of what's better, a lie that draws a smile or a truth that draws a tear.

"Probably not," he said softly.

"Oh."

"I prefer brunettes," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I can always dye my hair," she suggested in a small voice.

"Nah. Blonde suits you," Troy told her.

"Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"You love Gabriella, don't you? Like, you really really love her?"

"Yes. Yes I do." There was no hesitation within Troy's answer.

"Don't let another Evans twin get in the way of that."

"Huh?"

"Do you trust her?"

It went without saying. "Absolutely. Totally, completely, without a doubt."

"Then stop being all weird about my brother. Believe me, if there's anyone that gets just how much their little friendship annoys you, it's me. But... but if you really love her, then it's not worth letting it get in the way of things. It's stupid and petty."

"Do you think he likes her?" Troy asked. It suddenly occurred to him that he had overlooked the obvious method of trying to work out where Ryan stood.

"Does it matter?"

Troy contemplated this. It was exactly what Gabriella had made perfectly clear. That it shouldn't matter.

"I guess... I guess it doesn't."

"Then for the record. No. I think they're just friends."

They fell silent for a moment.

"Uh... your hair is finished," she said quietly.

"Thank you."

"So uh... should get going. Don't want to be late. Miss Darbus isn't a fan of tardiness."

"So I've learnt." Troy paused. "Sharpay?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you and I just... have a real conversation?"

"Don't tell anyone."

* * *

The little lecture theatre which had once been very infrequently used at East High had been taken over as the official drama club residence. Other than the gym - which was currently filled with fake math classrooms - it was the only room in the school which had enough room to fit a large number of people as well as having a large area at the front which could be used for the purpose of scene rehearsals. Plus it was in the same building as a series of general purpose classrooms which could be used as break out rooms.

However, it still wasn't nearly as practical or as convenient as the auditorium. The imminent problem on the day of the callback was that there were just too many people interested in the outcome. Not only was almost the entire cast and crew present; but then there was a crowd of various nosy people, both staff and students. Including the majority of Troy's team.

Troy was waiting in the classroom next door with Gabriella, and was beginning to feel nervous. He'd kept his nerves down all day by distracting himself with basketball and homework and Gabriella lips. But now, he could hear the racket in the room next door, the chatters of people awaiting the 'show.' Gabriella had been into the main room, observing that the room was completely packed; that students were sitting in the aisles, and standing along the back of the room.

"It's 5pm. Don't people have anything better to do after school than hang around to watch a couple of guys sing and act and dance?"

"Obviously not," Gabriella said. "Are you going to watch him?"

"No. I'll be staying right here."

Gabriella nodded. "I love you," she murmured, kissing him softly. "Good luck."

* * *

Troy was pacing backwards and forwards. He had planned to listen in but at the last minute, turned his Ipod up full blast. He kept glancing at his watch. He knew that the scene reading only took a few minutes, the dance was only supposed to be 64 beats and the song too was only a few minutes. He didn't even hear the knock at the door, and jumped a mile when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He spun around to see Kelsi.

"Ready Mike?" she asked with a bright smile.

"How was he?"

"Doesn't matter," she said firmly.

"Yeah it does."

"You just do your thing and that's all you need to do. Now get out there and knock Ms. Darbus off her feet. Because you sold everyone last time."

The mere appearance of Troy entering the room created a massive cheer from the crowd, as well as a series of wolf whistles. Probably a lot to do with his rock star get up. As planned, Troy approached Ms Darbus, and in his smooth as silk Mike the charmer tone greeted her.

"Why hello there li'l darlin'."

Ms Darbus appeared a little amused, a little flushed, and a lot embarrassed as those who were sitting close enough to hear laughed. Troy sauntered back over to the stage area where Theodore and several of his newly adopted friends were still in the process of removing a whole series of items. Theodore had literally built a set, with not only a backdrop but various items of furniture and props and knick knacks littered the area. Troy was staring at it in bewilderment.

"Would you like to borrow my backdrop?" Theodore offered.

Troy couldn't even try to maintain the Mike persona. "No. No I would not."

When Troy had ran through the scene with Gabriella at lunch time, it was evident that overnight he had memorized a whole lot more than the previous day; however it still hadn't been perfect. However somehow, as Troy Bolton always seemed to do - a rabbit was pulled out of a hat. Theodore had been good. Troy was better. Troy and Gabriella together - the chemistry was obvious to everyone within the room. Even Theodore was watching, mouth slightly agape.

They moved smoothly from the acting segment into the choreographed dance. Instead of feeling like a complete dickhead, dancing solo in front of a crowd - the crowd proceeded to clap along, which only fuelled Troy to perform the 64 beats of dance the best he had ever performed them. He looked up after finishing, seeing the beaming smiles of both Ryan and Sharpay who were admiring their work in amazement.

Troy took a few moments to compose himself and catch his breath, dragging a chair into the middle of the 'stage'. Kelsi took her position at the piano, ready to accompany Troy. And Gabriella came forward to hand him the guitar. Troy glanced up at just the right time, seeing the look of annoyance of Theodore's face upon seeing the guitar. Theodore hadn't played an instrument in his audition. Troy's eyes drifted over the sea of awaiting people.

"Hey," Gabriella said softly. "Pretend they're not there. It's just Mike singing to Nina."

Troy nodded and Gabriella squeezed his hand and took her seat in the front row beside Martha and Taylor. Troy sat down, positioned himself with the guitar and cleared his throat. His head was down the entire time, still needing to stare at the strings to get the notes right. But rather than appearing clumsy, it appeared endearing. It appeared to be soulful and thoughtful. Tithout the clutter of props and backdrops complicated backing tracks - there was Mike. Still. Wistfully strumming, singing soulfully.

In a moment of inspired spontaneity, Troy stopped playing just short of the end of the song, placed the guitar on the chair, and stood in front of Gabriella. Mike stood, he gazed and he sang to his beloved Nina.

Exactly what the show was all about.

* * *

Kelsi was clutching to Troy, tears in her eyes.

"Never in a million years would I have thought that you, Troy Bolton, would be the one who could make my compositions come to life. But you are. It's official. When I make it as a composer, you are going to perform everything that I ever write."

"I'll have to talk to my management at the Lakers and see if they'll let me have the time off," Troy said amused.

He'd shook hands with dozens upon dozens of people, hugged a whole series of randoms. The moment Ms. Darbus announced that he had been selected - with only two minutes of conference between the judging panel required - Troy had been engulfed by people. It was possibly even more animated than the response the previous year. Jason, Taylor, Zeke, Monica and Paula all came over, gushing madly.

"Amazing, absolutely amazing. I am proud to be your friend Troy Bolton," Paula declared, hugging him tightly.

"Where's Chad?" Troy asked.

"He had to take off," Zeke replied.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Oh. Fair enough then. Coulda said goodbye."

"It was in a bit of a rush. He was coming here then he got a phone call and kind of disappeared," Taylor said. "I'm kinda worried... I've been texting him and he says everything is fine though."

Troy hardly heard her, he was already being pulled away by someone else. But it was a more than welcome pull.

"Well Mike, looks like you and I are going to be spending a lot of time together over the next month."

He grinned, pulling Gabriella into him. "Looks like it Nina. Are you disappointed? I know how much you love Theodore's company."

"I'm disappointed that we don't get an auditorium to run amuck in."

"True… there were plenty of little private nooks and crannies and rooms and closets with locks on the doors in that building," he mused. "Damn fire."

"No really though... are you excited? You kind of got pushed into this..." Gabriella ventured.

"I'm pumped. Preparing for the return of Stressed!Troy but still pumped. I think it'll be awesome."

Troy spotted someone across the room. "I'll be back in a bit, okay?"

Gabriella followed his eyeline, and nodded. "Okay."

Ryan was talking animatedly with Darbus. He saw Troy coming over and went over to greet him midway.

"Troy, couldn't have done it better myself, awesome, awesome job," Ryan declared. "So we've just organised the rehearsal schedule..."

"Ryan?" Troy cut in.

"Yeah?"

Troy cleared his throat, and glanced down for a moment, shuffling his feet. "Thank you."

"It's all good," Ryan said.

"No really. Very seriously. Thank you. Uh... you've been awesome. Great. I know I was a little snippy yesterday but... it's been a great week. I've enjoyed spending time with you and... and I'm really stoked to be on board with the show. Now only coz of the show, but because it'll be great to get to hang with you more. Since, you know, we have something in common and all."

Troy looked Ryan directly in the eye.

"We do. Not in the way that you might think, but we do," Ryan said pointedly.

Troy nodded, and held out his hand. "So yeah... thank you."

Ryan shook his hand. "You're welcome."

Gabriella was watching the two boys from a distance. A slight tear came to her eye, a good tear, a tear of happiness. Maybe, just maybe, the two boys who had become so incredibly pivotal within her life could get along, with no underlying tension. Just maybe, everything could turn out okay.

* * *

**AN: **This chapter is dedicated to the memory of one of my favourite Australian actors Mark Priestley. RIP Mark… in the arms of an angel may you find some comfort here…


	27. Chapter 27

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions.

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsibly for this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Many thanks to the effort that both Ayen (_zvkg-ai) _and Martin (_emptrajan_) put into previewing my work. Legendary peeps they are. As are all of you, oodles of thanks to each person reading for your support. :-)

**

* * *

****Chapter 27**

"ARGH!" Troy grunted in exasperation.

He violently threw his pen across the cafeteria table. It skidded across the surface and landed on Chad's lunch tray, just inches away from the unidentifiable cafeteria slop.

"Easy Bolton," Chad said, rather amused. He rolled the pen back across to his friend.

"It's day freaking one of this month and a half of hell and I'm already stressed out!"

"It's the middle of October, things are getting stressful in every aspect of life," Taylor said, glancing up from the textbook she was frantically reading.

"Why are you getting annoyed you're doing fine," Gabriella said soothingly, rubbing Troy's arm.

"I am NOT doing fine. You've explained this to me like four times and I'm still getting the answer wrong!"

"Troy, it's a really difficult question. And each time you try it, more is right. All your working out was right here, just one tiny mistake. This is GOOD."

"One tiny mistake isn't good enough," Troy grumbled, but nevertheless picked up his pen to attempt another question.

"Math at lunch. It's disgraceful really," Jason said.

"Shut up mister 'I take drama, and computer applications, and film and television'," Troy said, his tone dripping with bitterness.

"You take drama!" Jason said defensively. "And film and television is a lot of work!"

"I'm sure watching movies is such a draining experience for you," Troy retorted sarcastically.

"We don't just watch them. We analyse the scripts and filming techniques. And then we MAKE films."

"Stop procrastinating," Gabriella reprimanded, poking Troy in his ribs.

She sat watching as Troy began to work through the next question, meticulously writing each letter and number. She was so intently watching that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her or sense the presence of someone until a piece of paper began to dangle in front of her face.

"Hi sir," Taylor said cheerfully, seeing the man who was standing behind Gabriela.

Gabriella took the sheet, and swivelled around to glance up.

"Any reason why I did NOT receive your entry form?" Mr Davis asked.

"Oh... this was due today?" Gabriella said meekly.

Gabriella knew very well that the entry was due that day. Mr Davis had reminded his advanced calculus class that very morning that they had until lunch period to have them in his hands. It had been a very conscious effort on her part to 'forget' to enter.

"What is it?" Troy asked, trying to look at the form. Gabriella moved it away from his line of vision.

"Some math contest," Gabriella said airily.

"It's a nation wide standardised math test contest, very prestigious, and looked upon very highly by colleges around the country," Mr Davis said.

"Sorry sir, looks like I missed the deadline, oh well. Next time, hey?" Gabriella said brightly.

"I don't have to have them faxed until 3 so looks like you can make the deadline after all," he said smugly.

"Uh... I don't have the entry fee with me," she said quickly.

"How much is it, I can..." Troy began to say.

Gabriella shot him a 'shut the hell up' look. Troy quickly took the message and closed his mouth, holding his hands up defensively.

"Tell you what Gabriella," Mr Davis said, pulling out his own wallet. "I will personally lend you the ten dollars and you can pay me back with your cash prize, how's that?"

"There's a cash prize and you don't wanna enter?" Jason said. "Are you crazy?"

"I never said I didn't want to enter," Gabriella stammered, clutching at straws. "I just... umm... I think it clashes with... with the musical."

"The contest is during homeroom and first period on a Tuesday morning, which just so happens to be our calculus class. No clashes there. How convenient. Now if you'd just sign the form at the bottom, you'll see I've already filled in all your other details."

Gabriella looked at it. "How do you know my address?"

"It's on school records. I could have forged your signature too but I thought you might not appreciate that."

Gabriella sighed and relented. In her brain she decided that she could just not show up to the classroom when they administered the test. So she snatched the form, took the pen from Troy's hand and scribbled her signature.

"Happy now?" she said.

With any other student, Mr Davis wouldn't have appreciated the attitude. However he had more of a familiar bond with the girls from the decathlon team, and the fact was that he knew there was something more going on with Gabriella.

"Can you come see me after school?" he asked her politely.

"No. I have musical rehearsal."

He sighed. "Tomorrow lunch?"

"Student council. Sorry sir, we'll have to talk about it another time. Thanks for the loan and I'll see you in class tomorrow."

Mr Davis rolled his eyes, and took the form from her. "We are going to talk about this at some stage," he called as he walked away.

"What was with that? You'd think you two were having an affair or something," Chad remarked.

"WHAT?!" Gabriella exclaimed, mortified at the suggestion. "You don't SAY things like that out loud! That's how you get teachers fired and students expelled."

"I was just saying..."

"Well don't say. That's... completely and utterly ridiculous."

"Then what was it about?" Zeke asked. "Why wouldn't you want to enter?"

Gabriella exhaled. "I don't like standardised tests is all."

"She doesn't like standardised tests because she doesn't want to get some ridiculously high score and have to cope with the attention," Taylor supplied.

Gabriella shot Taylor a murderous look.

"There's nothing wrong with attention when you're worthy of getting attention," Troy said quietly.

"It's not about..." Gabriella stopped herself and sighed. "Can we not talk about this? I agreed to do the stupid test, okay?"

Gabriella pointed to a question in Troy's textbook. "Try that one before the bell goes."

Troy sensed the resolute in her voice and nodded. "Okay."

* * *

On Tuesday afternoon, Jason and Zeke were sitting in their computer applications class, eyes trained on the clock. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… and finally it was home time.

They leapt up, grabbing their backpacks and beelining toward the door.

"I have to swing by the hospitality room to pick up some stuff, I'll meet you at Danforth's car, okay?" Zeke said.

Jason nodded. "Okay sweet."

Jason, Chad and Zeke had made plans to hang out that afternoon. It was somewhat strange, the idea of the three of them hanging out minus Troy. Undoubtedly it could be happening more and more frequently, with musical rehearsals starting that day. Between Gabriella and rehearsals, they had little doubt that Troy's spare time would be consumed entirely.

Jason headed through the corridors of East High in the direction of the main entrance. He passed by a bank of highly familiar lockers and standing at one of those lockers was a very familiar girl. She was standing at her locker, searching through the pile of books. She had her Ipod in, head bopping along to whatever was playing. She dropped the book she was holding onto the shelf; pausing contemplatively and her fingers playing upon an imaginary piano for a few moments. She proceeded to search through the books again. Standing on tiptoe, she was reaching towards the very back of the top shelf of her locker, a frustrated look upon her face. Jason swooped over, an arm reaching over her.

"Hey!" Kelsi exclaimed.

"What you trying to reach?"

"My pencil case."

Jason smiled, grasped the object and handed it over.

"You'd think after over three years here I'd have learnt to not throw things into the very back of that shelf. Yet I do it nearly every day, and nearly every day it takes someone with a bit more height to reach things for me."

"Good thing your knight in shining armor came along, huh?"

"Yes. Very good indeed," she said, blushing slightly. She was annoyed, it was a rarity that she was able to talk to Jason, just the two of them; and she had to rush off. "Look I would love to stay chat but I have rehearsal and..."

Suddenly, the words came flowing out. Without even making the conscious decision that he was going to do it, Jason grabbed her by the arm.

"Do you want to go out on Saturday night?"

Kelsi took a step backwards, her eyes wide. "Umm? Pardon?"

"Saturday night. You and me. Ummm say I don't know, dinner and a movie?"

It was real. She wasn't dreaming. She had officially convinced herself that she and Jason were destined to be friends; that everyone was convinced they should go out just because they were obsessed with the idea of some Utopian land of perfect couples. But here he was, asking her out.

Jason was beginning to feel somewhat concerned. It should NOT take this long to answer a simple question if the answer was what he wanted it to be. He could feel a sinking feeling within his stomach. This was why spontaneous decisions should not be made to ask out girls.

"Kelsi?" Jason ventured warily.

She was jolted back into reality by her name being spoken. Right. She should answer him.

"Of course! Yes! Absolutely definitely. Sounds fantastic!"

Kelsi couldn't even try to hide her over enthusiasm. Jason's face broke out into a broad grin, matching the bright smile on her face. "Cool. Well uh... I guess we'll organise the details during the week."

"Yes, good idea."

She was stagnant, staring him with a slightly goofy smile.

"Don't you have rehearsal?"

"Oh! Shit yes and I'm late. Umm... talk to you later?"

"Okay."

Jason watched after her as she dashed away, almost tripping over.

"That went well," he said out loud into the blank space in front of him.

* * *

It was highly unlike Kelsi to be late - particularly on the day of their very first official rehearsal. Luckily the first half hour was just people breaking out in groups rehearsing. There had been a junior excursion to a science museum that day, affecting the availability of a few of the cast members. Therefore the 'official' proceedings weren't beginning until 4. Nevertheless, Miss Darbus didn't fail to give Kelsi a stern look when she came rushing into the lecture theatre.

"Sorry, sorry," Kelsi said.

"Miss Montez and Mr Bolton are waiting for you down the hall in G8," Miss Darbus said. "Do I need to tell you to not be late again?"

Kelsi was in a headspace where the stern words of Miss Darbus weren't enough to throw her. She just shook her head, and turned away. Kelsi walked down the corridor in a daze, walking straight past the classroom she had been told to meet the others in before realising she had passed it. Kelsi realised a moment later and did an about face. She peered through the window of the door, seeing not only Troy and Gabriella but also Ryan; as they ran through one of the few scenes with just the three of them present. Kelsi quietly creaked the door open. Ryan glanced up at her, but he continued with the lines he was reading. When Gabriella glanced up, it took only one glance at her friend to know that something was up. Kelsi was always bright and bubbly. But at that moment, even standing still and being quiet, she looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary.

"Nate, this is Mike. We met at the…" Gabriella trailed off when her eyes flickered up at her friend, seeing the look on Kelsi's face. "What happened?"

"Nothing nothing. Continue," Kelsi urged, feeling bad for interrupting.

Gabriella put a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. "Spill."

If it had been just her and Gabriella; or even her and Gabriella and Ryan; Kelsi would not have hesitated to be squealing and telling every detail of every moment of THE conversation. THE conversation that she had been imagining for months. However she was very aware of Troy's presence, and aware that whatever she said may very well get back to Jason.

Troy's phone sounded with a text message, and he whipped it out to check, since there had been a pause in the proceedings.

"Thank fucking Christ," Troy said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"What?"

"I know why Kelsi is all giddy and happy," Troy teased.

"Did he just text you?" Kelsi asked, blushing.

"Yeah."

"Did who just text who?" Gabriella demanded impatiently, her head whipping between Troy and Kelsi.

"Jason asked me out," Kelsi informed her, beaming.

A high pitched screech left the mouth of Gabriella Montez, who engulfed her friend in a tight hug. "Oh my God finally!"

"I think you may be more excited than me," Kelsi said, but hugging Gabriella back just as tightly.

"You're just shocked. I'd be shocked. I really thought he'd never do it and we were going to have to tie the pair of you up in a room and leave you there."

Kelsi's smile was wide, the faraway twinkle in her eye indicating just how happy she was. However, she was attempting to maintain an aura of professionalism.

"Anyway, I'm supposed to go through the duet with you guys," Kelsi said.

"This is girl code for, she'll squeal with you later when I'm not here to find out just how excited she was and report back to Jason," Troy said smugly.

"How do you know girl code?" Ryan asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I have my ways."

* * *

Meanwhile, Chad and Zeke were waiting in the parking lot for Jason to arrive. He came out, walking slowly, his brain a mush of incomprehensible thoughts. He really didn't even know what it was that had pushed him over the edge; whether it had been Martha's words on Sunday or the constant talk of his buddies about their girlfriends. He couldn't help but feel like he had been rather stupid for not asking her out sooner.

"Hurry the fuck up JC," Chad grumbled good naturedly.

"What took you so long?" Zeke asked. "I thought you were coming straight here?"

"I got distracted," Jason said elusively.

"What's with that look on your face? Did you get laid or something?" Chad asked.

"Better."

"Better than getting laid?" Zeke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well I wouldn't know because I haven't gotten laid but thanks for the reminder."

"Well?" Chad prompted.

"I asked Kelsi out," Jason said casually. "So what are we doing this arvo? PS2 at Zeke's?"

"You what? You dog! About time you got on with it and asked her out!" Chad declared.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just ask out Taylor like a month ago?"

Chad bristled. "Shut up."

* * *

"Welcome to the first official rehearsal for East High's Fall Musicale, **_Once Upon A Time_**!" Ms Darbus announced in a melodramatic tone. "The quality of the auditions this year has far surpassed those of any previous production I have been involved in. I have a strong feeling that we can make this East High's best production ever!"

The cast and crew erupted into excited, anticipatory cheers. The room was filled with an excited vibe. Undoubtedly in a few weeks time that would wear off and instead be replaced with a feeing of exhaustion and contempt toward whoever it was that created the concept of musical theatre.

"As per usual, I have some strict rules which I request that all thespians adhere to. The utilisation of cell phones within our chapel of the arts is forbidden. Of course this year our chapel has expanded, being the common areas of East High. We will be basing our rehearsals in this lecture hall and the immediate classrooms nearby. Cell phones are not appropriate in any of these areas. Nor will I be tolerating tardiness. We have a very tight schedule with this production, within which every second counts."

Ms Darbus proceeded to introduce the staff representatives from the music and dance departments who were also assisting to facilitate the musical.

"In addition, we also have our composer Kelsi Nielson who will facilitate some of the rehearsals, and additionally, my student assistant director, Ryan Evans."

Ryan and Kelsi were up the front with the rest of the teaching staff, waving slightly when they were introduced, met by a slight applause.

"Throughout the duration of the lead up to the fall musicale, it has been agreed that Ryan is temporarily stepping back from his role as co-president of the drama club. All drama club specific issues are therefore to be directed through Sharpay Evans."

Sharpay stood from her place in the crowd, waving royally and curtsying to the smattering of applause.

"I would also like to welcome on board my stage manager - Theodore Gallagher."

Queue chirping crickets.

There had been applause for the teaching staff, for Kelsi and Ryan, and even a small applause for Sharpay.

There was not one peep out of anyone for Theodore.

Miss Darbus cleared her throat, breaking the silence. "Theodore joins us this year at East High with a highly experienced background in a number of productions."

Theodore stood from his place, and joined the rest of the 'team' up the front. Troy shrivelled down in his chair, pretending to fall asleep on Gabriella's shoulder. Gabriella stifled a giggle and slapped him on the arm.

"I just want to let everyone know how excited and enthralled I am to have this fantastic opportunity to hone my backstage skills. After years of involvement on stage, it is about time that I was able to experience the theatre from an alternative point of view. I know that with this incredible cast and crew, we can make this a truly memorable theatrical experience."

Troy let out a hacking, strangled cough sound.

"Mr Bolton? Are you all right?" Ms Darbus asked, raising her eyebrows.

Troy cleared his throat, pounding his chest slightly. "Fine. Just a bit of a frog in my throat. I hope I'm not getting sick."

There were titters from the cast and crew. Theodore remained smiling, either he was a brilliant actor or he was simply completely oblivious to Troy's immature way of voicing his disliking of the boy. Ms Darbus continued, beaming at Theodore.

"So today's agenda is fairly simple. We are going to take the time for a full table read. But before we move on with that, let us run through the rehearsal schedule, which has been put together by Mr Evans."

Sheets of paper proceeded to circulate the room.

"Okay I spent HOURS doing this guys, going over all of your availabilities and what not. You need to look these over with a fine tooth comb and tell me if there are ANY problems. If you've been scheduled for abnormal rehearsal times and you don't have access to vehicles, I've thought about all of this, lifts will be organised. There will also be some rehearsals taking place outside of school grounds – on our location at Lava Springs, and some at various peoples houses. We're all going to be one big happy family this year!"

Troy examined his rehearsal schedule.

"Oh. Shit."

"What?" Ryan said dubiously. He had been hovering nearby, suspecting that if anyone was going to have a problem it was going to be Troy.

"I'm gonna have to miss a basketball game."

"No no, we can change it, what did I do wrong?" Ryan said hastily.

"Well unless we're going to change the date of opening night I don't think you can change it."

Ryan looked over the schedule. "I thought that on the odd weeks when you have two games, you have a Wednesday night game and a Friday afternoon game? And it was the other week when it was Friday night? So you can go to your game, it's over by 5:30, we open at 7:30… yeah it's tight but doable."

"It was. But it got switched around, the whole schedule. I only found out yesterday. Anyway, so that week it's now a Friday night game."

"Oh."

Troy swallowed. "It's cool… uh… you know it should be good for the new guys to have a game without me. They shouldn't rely on one player, you know?"

Troy believed this. However, he wasn't sure how his dad was going to react.

"True," Ryan said steadily. He turned his focus to Gabriella. "All good with yours?"

She nodded. "But then again, I think you know my schedule better than I know it myself."

It wasn't far from the truth, given that outside of school Gabriella's main commitment that semester was student council, which Ryan organised the meeting times for.

"I gave you that weekend off, see?"

"I noticed that. Thank you."

"Why do you get a whole weekend off?" Troy asked, peering over.

Gabriella swallowed, realising that in her desire to put off telling him about her plans for the following weekend, she had genuinely forgotten to tell him at all.

"Shit! I didn't tell you!" she exclaimed. "Uh... my mom has a business fair thing in Boston. And, it just so happens that the Harvard open day is that Saturday. So Taylor and I are going with her to check it out."

Gabriella was trying to make it sound casual. Within all of the talk they had engaged in about college - never had they discussed anything specific other than Troy's potential University of Albuquerque scholarship. Henceforth never discussing possible separation.

"Boston," Troy repeated.

"Uh huh."

"Okay, students, is everyone happy? We will now proceed with a table read."

"We'll talk about it later," Gabriella said softly, squeezing his hand.

* * *

"Come on come on come on!" Chad shouted. "Faster!"

"That's right baby, nice and smooth," Zeke said.

At Zeke's house, the guys had popped an oldie but a goodie into the PlayStation – _Need For Speed_.

"Why won't it go any faster!" Chad exclaimed, frantically pressing at buttons.

"Maybe coz crashed into the wall like a thousand times," Jason suggested.

"And ironically of three of us, Danforth is the one with a car," Zeke said. "Yes! And I officially rule, yet again. I own you."

Chad had a sulky expression on his face as he completed his final lap and went over the finish line.

"That thing is rigged, I swear," he muttered, tossing the controller aside.

Jason's phone went off with his text message tone. Jason fished his cell out of his ocket, a moment later laughing out loud with an embarrassed expression on his face.

"What?" Zeke asked.

"It's Troy. He said that Kelsi is all giddy and happy at the rehearsal."

"Of course she is. This has been a ridiculously long time coming," Zeke said. "Just imagine, this could be the first time that all four of us have had a girlfriend at the same time?"

"Woah, dude, first date we're talking about here," Jason said, eyes boggling. "Not exactly girlfriend status yet."

"I reckon we should have some kind of big group hang out one weekend soon," Zeke declared.

"We should be having a beginning of season party," Chad said. "Any parents going away soon?"

Zeke and Jason both shook their heads.

"I can talk to Monica about it, her parents are pretty cool with this kind of stuff," Zeke said.

"Are you and her like, serious?" Jason asked.

Zeke shrugged. "Semi serious I guess. I don't think she wants to rush into anything too serious."

"But serious enough to be getting laid?" Chad asked.

Zeke shrugged, a slight smile. "Maybe there is a perk to dating a cheerleader."

"Surely you and Tay are gonna do it soon?" Jason said.

Chad shrugged. "Dunno. I think she wants to wait. Which is fine. She uh... makes up for it in other ways."

"You think you'll do it before Troy?" Zeke asked.

"As if Troy is going to have time to be having sex," Chad scoffed. "Between the musical and all those crazy subjects Gabriella convinced him to take, the guy is gonna have a coronary before he gets laid."

"Do you reckon it's gonna be a problem?" Zeke asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Troy doing the musical during basketball season."

"Evans seems to think it's all sorted."

"He had all those plans with team bonding and shit, and wanting to get a group trip together to go watch an NBA game," Jason said.

"So?"

"Well... if Troy's gonna slack off..." Jason began.

"He's not slacking off. He's just..."

"Gonna be busy with other shit he thinks is more important?" Zeke supplied.

Interestingly, right as Chad had been feeling as though Troy's world was revolving around everything and everyone but their friendship – here he was defending the guy.

"You guys agreed to pushing him into auditioning, remember?" Chad reminded them. "Troy was right last year when he said that he's not the only one on the team. Why should Troy have to sort all that out? He's not the only one capable of doing shit. I can step up. Actually do something as vice captain. It'll all be good."

Jason and Zeke glanced at one another, shrugging.

"If you think so," Zeke said, somewhat hesitantly.

"I know so," Chad said firmly. He glanced at his watch, eyes widening. "Shit, is that the time hey?"

"It's not even 5," Jason said.

"I have to take off but. Mom wanted me home. Dunno why. You wanna lift JC?"

"I guess," Jason said, peering out at the rain. "I have to work on my film assignment, anyway."

"I have to write a recipe for hospitality," Zeke said.

"How long til graduation?" Jason asked.

"Too long."

* * *

The table read went well and the afternoon ran relatively smoothly. Troy and Gabriella were quick to escape, farewelling the rest of the cast. Troy didn't even ask Gabriella where they were going; he just drove straight back to his own house and led her to his bedroom. It was the first time they'd been in one of their bedrooms recently without the insinuation that some sort of 'activity' was bound to follow.

"So. Harvard," Troy said, not shying away from bringing back up the subject which had been bothering them both since it had been brought up.

"Yes," Gabriella said quietly.

"In Massachusetts."

"That's the one," she said softly. His discomfort was evident. "Uh... you know because Taylor has wanted to go to Harvard since she could walk and... and I figured I should go check it out. I really haven't thought about it much though - I mean I even totally forgot to tell you."

She forced a laugh.

"Gabriella..."

"It's not like I've looked at the application or anything," she continued.

"It's okay Gabriella," Troy said softly. "It's good that you're going. You had that scout approach you last year at the state decathlon final, remember?"

"I umm... thought you might be weird about it," she admitted in a small voice.

"Truth is that I don't want to think about it," Troy said quietly. "I'm happily in denial land. I haven't even looked at my own situation, let alone thought about... you know..."

_**Let alone contemplated that you and I may not be together next year.**_

"And I really haven't thought about it a lot either," Gabriella insisted. "I think about it generally, I've sent away for some brochures but... haven't really thought about where I want to be. It was my mom's idea to come along to the open day and I know Taylor really wanted to go."

"It's fine. I care more that you're gonna be away for a whole weekend and that I'll miss you," Troy said, smiling slightly.

"This time there will be no banning of cell phone contact because that really was rather traumatising last time," Gabriella said.

"Agreed."

"Umm... about the other stuff though... should we... should we be thinking about it? I mean... for some schools, application due dates are sooner than others."

"Ivy Leagues?" Troy said wryly.

"Not just Ivy Leagues," Gabriella said pointedly. "A lot of scholarship applications are due sooner, which you obviously should be looking at."

"True." Troy paused. "We should be thinking about it. Absolutely. I've had dad on my case about it for months, and now the assistant coach has joined in and whenever I pass the guidance counsellor in the hallway, she doesn't fail to ask how my applications are going. But…"

"You don't want to talk about it?" Gabriella said in a quiet tone, knowing exactly what he meant.

Troy nodded. "Is that bad? I mean... when we've established that we should be talking about everything. But... but it's so good with us right now. Isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Gabriella agreed earnestly.

"And… and I think a lot of that is because we stopped worrying about everything around us and… and just worried about me and you. In the present."

"I know."

"Which is why I'm perfectly happy to remain in denial land... at least, the stuff that is about you and me," Troy said quietly.

As he spoke the words, he was fully prepared to be met by disagreement from her. He was fully prepared for her to insist that they might want to remain in denial but that practically they couldn't, that they needed to discuss the matter. So Gabriella's response came as a bit of a shock.

"So am I," Gabriella said. "Denial land suits me fine right now."

"Are you just saying that because I am?" Troy asked cautiously.

Gabriella shook her head. "No, the truth is that I would rather just put it in a box... at least for now. I don't think either of us can go through this process worrying about the both of us. We need to just... to just do it. Without regard for anything other than what is best for me; and what is best for you. As individual people."

"Are you sure?" Troy said quietly.

Gabriella nodded. "I am but… but at some point… we're gonna have to talk about it. Take the lid off the box."

"At some point, yes."

"When?" Gabriella asked softly.

Troy pulled out his diary and handed it to her. "Flick through the pages and point to a date."

Gabriella giggled. "You're crazy, Wildcat."

"I'm serious," Troy said, his tone supporting his words.

"I know you are, that's what makes you crazy."

"This is gonna plague us if we sit around thinking that we're gonna talk about it at some undetermined time. Let's decide right now when the lid comes off the box."

Gabriella took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and proceeded to flick through the pages and then randomly dropped her finger to the page. She opened her eyes.

"That's closing night of the musical," she said softly.

"It is?" He peered at it.

"Yes. We have Friday night, Saturday matinee and Saturday night this year. Lava Springs has some golf function on Sunday night… so we're doing the Saturday matinee instead. Which you should know about since you probably need to be there for that."

"That's right. Actually I don't think I am meant to be there, it's all adults and drinking. But I guess that means I'll have to get Saturday morning off work," he mused. "Great, miss a basketball game and miss work in the one weekend. All for this damn show."

He gave her a small smile, assuring her that he wasn't actually annoyed.

"But is this it then? Five weeks til we talk about it?"

Troy nodded. "Yup. So til then... we don't talk about it. I mean... we can talk about our applications and stuff but... just not..."

"The implications."

"Right."

Gabriella was staring at Troy's bedspread, tracing the pattern with her finger. Troy's eyes were darting around his room, looking anywhere than at her.

"Umm... so the table read went..." Troy began to say.

"I love you," Gabriella said quietly, interrupting him, finally allowing herself to look into his eyes. "Just... know that."

_**Know that, no matter what happens, no matter where we end up... I love you.**_

Troy shifted his weight, moving to sit closer to her. He picked up her hand, squeezing it gently. "I know. I do know that. And... and I love you too."

_**I love you too... don't leave me.**_

* * *

The moment that the bell rang signalling the end of first period calculus on Wednesday morning, Gabriella leapt out of her chair.

"See you in physics," she called to Taylor, who was heading to her Global Studies class.

Gabriella quickly shuffled toward the door, attempting to bypass Mr Davis' desk.

"Gabriella?"

She winced, and turned around, a fake smile on her face.

"Yes sir?"

"May I see you for a moment?" Mr Davis asked politely.

"Umm... I have to..."

"You have free period next and this is not a question it is a request. Pull up a chair."

His tone indicated that he was officially pulling the authority card out of his pocket. Gabriella took a deep breath, and pulled a chair from the front row to sit by his desk.

"Is this about the contest coz I very genuinely forgot to bring my money for it and..." Gabriella was speaking fast, her words almost amalgamating into one long 'supercallafragalistic' type of word. She was cut off.

"I think you and I have gotten to know one another well enough for me to tell you to cut the crap," Mr Davis said bluntly. "You don't want to do it, do you?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No. No I don't."

"Why not?" he persisted.

She sighed. "I have my reasons. Number one, I don't like standardised tests, they aren't fair and…"

"We're not talking about loose change here, Gabriella. There are real cash prizes, real prestige, real opportunities associated with achieving high results in these types of competitions."

Gabriella swallowed. "It's not just about that."

"I know that you want to be more than just math and science. I admire you for having the courage to expand your horizons, to be participating in musicals, to playing a key role within class office. As a guitar strumming, soccer playing math and science teacher - I more than anyone encourage this type of diversity. But the math, the science - it's your passion. There's a reason why you've told me that you want to study further in these fields, there's a reason why you have dreams within these fields. It's who you are. In that quest for diversity, don't forget who you are."

"I haven't," Gabriella protested. "It's... it's about more than that."

"The boy?"

"I don't appreciate you saying that in a condescending tone. I think you know me better than you know your other students, and that you know me well enough to get that I'm in a very real relationship."

"Yes. It's always real when you're seventeen," Mr Davis said, somewhat whimsically. "You know what else is real? Scholarships to top universities around the country. There are dozens of kids like you around the country, kids with such a sharp mind, with an ability to perform mathematical calculations at a rate and a level that make teachers like myself jealous. The diversity is good, it makes you stand out from the crowd. But first and foremost, at the core, you need to focus yourself on what it is that you want to become. A girl with brilliant grades and diverse activities on her CV is impressive, but to these stupid selectors, they see a lack of focus. They see that you don't really WANT to apply yourself to your aptitudes. I understand that you think that these tests are stupid, that the contests don't really MEAN anything. That it's just a high number on a piece of paper. But that high number on a piece of paper could be your ticket to an amazing future."

"Can I go now? I'm meant to be running through a song with Ryan," Gabriella said quietly.

Mr Davis nodded. Gabriella picked up her tote bag, slung it over her shoulder and headed toward the door. "Gabriella?"

She turned around. "Yes?"

"If the relationship is real - then it should be able to support itself no matter what it is that you are striving to achieve."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Just a quick note to clarify something. This story, _Someday, _is actually _The Someday Trilogy._ In my first chapter in the giant long winded authors note I identified that there are going to be three parts to the story. At first I was intending to post all three parts within the one story. However it has become evident to me that my muse is insisting that the entire thing be about six times longer than originally intended and the idea of having a story in my account that is a million chapters long is somewhat daunting.

_Once Upon A Time,_ being Part 1 of _Someday, _will last for about 50 chapters give or take. Sometime toward the end of posting this story, I will change the title name to _Someday: Once Upon A Time._

If you are intending to see the entire story through - so through until just before they go to college in _Pandora147_ world which I guarantee will by the end differentiate extremely from HSM3 - then you will need to have me in your Author Alert.

I have not yet planned out Parts 2 and 3. I have not yet decided whether I will continue to write immediately after finishing Part 1; or if I will take a break for a little while. I do not know how long it will be, or how many million years it might take to finish my verse of stories. The thought of how long it's going to take is scaring the living bejeesus out of me so let's just focus on one chapter at a time for now.


	28. Chapter 28

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions.

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Many thanks to the effort that both Ayen (_zvkg-ai) _and Martin (_emptrajan_) put into previewing my work. Additionally, I would like to identify that there are **Z RATED **elements contained within this chapter. There are scenes incorporating mouth watering (pardon the pun… you'll get why…) images of our young Mr Bolton as depicted by the Zefron himself. Exceeded dosage of **Z Ratedness** may lead to heart palpitations, excessive drooling and hot flushes. I take no responsibility for any side affects. Proceed with caution. (The rating of 'Z' Copyright Nel/Dani 2008)

* * *

**Chapter 28**

Troy entered the school grounds on Thursday morning with his left arm slung over his girlfriend's shoulders. His right hand was busy exchanging manly handshakes and waves, greeting people as he passed.

"Awesome game last night, Troy," one of the footballers said, coming up to shake Troy's hand. "Nice last minute three pointer there to seal the deal."

Troy flashed back a genuine smile. "Thanks man, I thought it went well."

"Can't wait for Friday's game – on home soil, too! Good luck!"

"Thanks man, see you round!"

"You really are like a celebrity," Gabriella remarked as they continued in the walk of fame. "And I'm your trophy girlfriend."

Troy snorted. "Uh yeah, decathlon winning, class vice president, musical star… totally a trophy girlfriend."

They reached the rest of the group who were hanging out by the fountain. Quite a few randoms had dropped by, chatting with Zeke, Jason and Chad. It always seemed like the days after a big win would attract a crowd of 'friends' who any other day of the week barely said hello.

Sometimes all it took was an amazing night to take him to that place were he felt like he was on top of the world; to remind him of why it was that he lived his crazy, hectic lifestyle.

"Excellent game last night," a pompous voice said from behind.

And sometimes, all it took was one not-so-favourite person to bring the euphoric high crashing down.

Troy turned around, tight lipped. "Hey Theodore, didn't know you were at the game."

"Well I wasn't, I had other engagements, but I heard you played splendidly."

"Who are you?" Chad said bluntly, even though he knew very well who the kid was.

Taylor poked Chad in the side, a silent reprimand for his somewhat rudeness.

"Theodore Gallagher. I am the stage manager for the upcoming fall musicale. Ryan and Kelsi, just confirming our meeting at 4:30 this afternoon?"

"That's right. At Lava Springs," Ryan confirmed.

"And my Nina, will you be present?" Theodore asked, turning to Gabriella.

She cleared her throat. "Uh… you know very well that the cast isn't required tonight."

"Pity. You could come along anyway?" he suggested. "I'm sure you'll have some innovative ideas as to how we can adapt the script to fit in the new venue?"

"Umm… I… am busy. I have…"

She couldn't say she had social plans with Troy, because the boys had basketball practice at the Redhawks gym. She couldn't say she had student council because Ryan was obviously at the musical meeting at Lava Springs.

"… to wash my hair?" was the final meek response, which came across sounding more like a question than as a statement.

"A shame. Oh well. I'll see you all later."

Thedore walked away, head held high, theatrically waving to some people as he passed.

"Gabriella. What I am about to say is going to sound really harsh but… just tell the kid you aren't interested!" Ryan exclaimed. "This is stupid! Yes he's an annoying twit and he's going to be around for all of the next month and a half and you acting like that around him all the time is going to make things run rather inefficiently."

Gabriella stared at Ryan. "I'm sorry that I'm not accustomed to boys… flocking around me like I'm… like I'm…"

"Hi Troy!" two of the junior cheerleaders chirped as they sauntered past.

"… like I'm the female version of Troy," Gabriella finally finished her sentence.

"I kinda feel bad for him," Troy mused. "I took his part and… okay… I already had you so it's not like I could _take _you from him."

"You HAD me?" Gabriella enquired with a cheeky smile. "Like… like I'm a possession to own?"

Troy grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in close to him. "That's right… you're mine," he said softly, and leaned down to kiss her.

"Okay then," Gabriella murmured, just before allowing his lips to meet hers. Troy had been about to let go of the kiss when her hands resting on the back of his neck pulled him in closer, deepening the connection.

"Righto, get a room," Zeke said, coughing loudly.

"Hey you!" an excited voice said from behind.

Zeke spun around to see Monica approaching, looking glamorous and perfect as ever. "Why hello," Zeke said, softening.

And suddenly he was a hypocrite, melting into the arms of his girlfriend.

"Anyone who is interested in not making out in front of the fountain and wants to go to homeroom, follow me," Taylor announced.

"I hear that," Ryan said, making the move to walk in step with her.

Taylor glanced behind her, noting that both of the couples were reluctantly pulling apart. However Chad had remained rooted, with his arms folded across his chest.

"What if I want to make out in front of the fountain?"

Taylor smirked. "You're a big basketball star, I'm sure you can find someone compliant."

"One day I'll take you seriously when you suggest I do something like that," Chad warned her.

* * *

Senior students had been inundated with hand outs about college applications, resitting the ACTs, upcoming careers fairs. Taylor had read every sentence of every page and was already in the process of completing some applications. Gabriella had read them and had avoided thinking about them. Troy had avoided reading anything. However the conversation agreeing to not have a conversation on Tuesday had been a wake up call; stressing that perhaps he should be putting more thought into it all.

Over the next month, East High were running a few information evenings in the lead up to this critical period within their lives. As students arrived in homeroom on Thursday morning, elaborate bold writing on the blackboard provided a reminder of the first of these. _SAT Information Evening: Monday: 7 – 9pm. _

"Why do they want to torture us and make us take more exams than necessary," Chad grumbled.

"Because this great nation of ours is stupid and doesn't have one consistent application process for all tertiary education institutions," Taylor supplied.

"I know they'll tell us about it on Monday and that I probably should have just read the information they've given us, but why did they put so much emphasis upon the ACTs last year if they're now saying we should also take these SATs?" Jason asked.

"Basically different colleges have preference toward either of them. The mass generalisation is that the central states consider the ACTs as being perfectly acceptable as a score upon which to base entry. But if you're looking at going to a college anywhere else, so on either coast, or if you're just not sure about where you might be applying, you'd best take the SATs also," Taylor explained.

"I guess it's also a way to improve on your score, if you weren't happy with your ACT result," Martha added.

Troy glanced toward the front of the classroom where Gabriella was out of earshot, engaged in a conversation with Miss Darbus.

"I think I should take them. Or at least go along to the info night to find out more," Troy said.

"Wasn't the whole point of your summer events to try to lock in that U of A scholarship?" Zeke asked.

Troy cleared his throat. "Well… I might not necessarily decide I want to stay in Albuquerque. I might… have reasons to leave."

"Uh huh," Taylor said quietly.

Troy glanced at Taylor sharply. Taylor gave him a small smile.

* * *

Ryan and Chad were sitting next to one another in their fourth period history class. Being a Thursday, it was the final period before seniors were dismissed to go home. The bell rang, both springing out of their chairs in equally speedy fashion.

"So do you have anything on between now and that meeting thing at Lava Springs?" Chad asked.

Ryan shook his head. "Nah, I was gonna just go home and chill. Why?"

"Don't suppose you wanna come hang with me at the mall for a bit?"

Ryan studied Chad. "What, everyone else busy?"

"Well, as a matter of fact they are, but I was gonna ask you anyway."

Ryan shrugged. "Okay. Sure. Why not?"

"Sweet. Since I have to take off for basketball after and you'll have to go to your thing, I'll meet you there?"

"Sounds good. Umm… meet you outside the music shop?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Troy and Gabriella were in his truck, headed for her house. There had been no discussion of where they were going or what they were doing. It seemed that discussion was no longer necessary.

"I made an appointment with my GP for next Monday after school," Gabriella said out of the blue, as conversation hit a slight lull.

"Oh? Something wrong?" Troy said, his concern evident.

"No," Gabriella assured him. She bit her lip, trying to make the next comment sound as casual as possible. "I uh... want to... I thought I'd find out more about contraceptive pills."

Gabriella had always been a practical girl, the kind that carried tissues and band aids in her handbag 'just in case.' She knew that it was going to happen sooner or later. So it truly was a case of being prepared – not a case of, okay, now I'm protected so let's do it.

"That's... that's good. If that's what you want to do," Troy said carefully.

He understood that her hesitation was largely because she didn't want to make him assume that she was ready.

"I don't know if I do. That's why I thought I'd ask about them now. So that... I know about them... for when... I need to know."

"_When_ you need to know... not... _if _you need to know?" Troy couldn't resist but tease her for her wording.

She smiled slyly. "I think we both know that it has escalated from an if to a when."

Mental imagery flew through Troy's mind. He swallowed.

"Maybe we shouldn't be talking about our impending sex life whilst I'm driving and trying to keep us both alive."

* * *

Chad and Ryan were ambling throughout the mall with no particular purpose in mind. Ryan couldn't help but contemplate that, with the exception of assisting Troy with his preparation for the musical callback - this was the first time in years that he had hung out with a straight guy, just Ryan and a companion and no one else. And expanding the sentence above from 'straight guy' to just guy – there had only been a handful of times at the beginning of junior year when Ryan had hung out with a guy from his dance class, fooling around a little. For the most part, up until summer, it had been Ryan, Sharpay and her country club 'friends'. 'Friends' was even a stretch of how he could describe Sharpay's groupies. Group assignments aside, there were only two people from school he'd spent one on one time with. Firstly Kelsi, who he'd spent a lot of time with over the years in the context of drama club productions. And then of course there was Gabriella.

For Chad, hanging out with Ryan was somewhat refreshing, a relief from the stress of his normal life. Conversation was revolving around subjects other than basketball and his girlfriend. When he and Ryan discussed impending college applications, it wasn't in Taylor's lecturing - you'd better get moving - tone. Nor was it in Troy's - without a scholarship I'm nothing – tone. Chad wanted to go to college; and he was well prepared for the idea that he may not receive any kind of scholarship at all. Financial aid was a strong possibility however he didn't anticipate receiving enough aid to support the entire situation. A combination of part time jobs and student loans were seen as a viable option for most people, why Troy couldn't see that as being an option only served to frustrate Chad.

"I'm actually really excited about basketball this year. I feel like I'm fitter than ever. I've been training early this year, going for runs and stuff. Troy seems to think he's the only one capable of getting up early to train."

Ryan nodded in understanding. "I wake up early to practice dance."

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Really? What, for the musical?"

"No, my classes outside of school."

"How do you fit it all in?" Chad asked incredulously. "You're doing the musical like every second of the day, plus this class president gig, oh and yeah there's school."

"Yeah the school part isn't so much of a priority," Ryan admitted. "You know that Chem II quiz we had last week? The one that was meant to be a really important indicator for the big exam in a few weeks?"

"Yeah?"

"I failed that."

"Ouch. Does uh... does Gabriella know?"

"Hell no! She wouldn't shut up if she heard I'd let my school work slide. Doesn't matter if she's suddenly the theatre starring sex slave of the basketball captain, there's still that school nerd at heart. She can't change that even if she wants to."

* * *

Despite having driven directly to Gabriella's house with very little sexual innuendo taking place, Troy still felt a need to maintain the study façade. His reasons were twofold, with neither of them having anything to do with appearing as though he cared about his school work. Firstly, he didn't want to be presumptuous. Intrinsically, he knew that Gabriella wanted it as much as he did, but it felt inappropriate to simply assume this when she hadn't explicitly said anything. So consequently, the second reason was that he was in awe of the 'super vixen' side of Gabriella. He loved it when she had to take control, when she came out of her shell and demanded just how much she wanted him.

Therefore, once they'd reached her room and closed the door, he went through the motion of pulling out his physics textbook.

"So, this reading seems…"

It only took those four words, the very beginning of a sentence, for the girl he wanted to emerge to surface. Gabriella stepped forward, took the book straight out of his hands, and tossed it haphazardly onto her desk.

"Shut up."

Troy smiled coyly, the look of lust in her eye mirrored by the look of lust in his own.

"Make me."

And that she did.

Gabriella's arms snaked around the back of Troy's neck as she stood on tip toe and pulled him down for their lips to meet. Her fingers danced with the hair at the nape of his neck; as her tongue conducted a playful duel with his. His hands clasped her waist and pulled her closer, before moving them south and gently squeezing her ass. One of Gabriella's hands left his neck, running a smooth line down the centre of his spine, resting momentarily upon his hip before continuing the journey south and grazing tantalisingly against his already semi hard member. Troy groaned slightly into her kiss, pulled her even closer and proceeded to kiss with greater vigor. His hands fell to the hem of her t-shirt. He lightly suckled on her bottom lip before releasing the kiss for long enough to pull the article of clothing over her head and discard it onto the carpet. His lips crashed back down to meet hers once again, controlling the kiss, stroking his tongue against hers zealously. Gabriella melted under his control, and whimpered into his kiss as his hands ran up her sides and grasped onto her breasts, squeezing firmly. Her hands latched onto his belt, undoing the buckle and removing it from the constrictive loops to cast the item aside. She was toying with the hem of his shirt, and yanked away from him to allow her to pull it up and away.

They each took a moment to regain composure, ragged breaths being taken as the couple gazed adoringly into one another's eyes. Troy leaned forward and placed a soft tender kiss on her cheek, then again closer to her ear.

"You never did tell me whether last night's game had the same affect upon you as it did last Friday," Troy murmured softly, his breath tickling against Gabriella's ear.

He proceeded to nibble and suck at the sweet spot of her neck. Gabriella was clutching onto his upper arms, her head thrown back as she revelled in the sensation of his nuzzling. Troy was becoming increasingly experienced in the art of multitasking, with his hands now focused on the task of unhooking her bra without desisting from using his lips, teeth and tongue to tease her neck. Her fingers deftly unbuttoned and pulled down the fly of his jeans, pushing the item away to reveal his increasingly straining erection contained by a pair of green checkered cotton boxers. Troy compliantly stepped out of them, kicking the item away.

"Well?" Troy murmured questioningly.

He punctuating the point by simultaneously flicking his right index finger against her now bare nipple; and reattaching his lips to her neck and sharply sucking. She moaned, ragged breaths impeding upon her ability to answer the question.

"Let's put it this way. Between the singing and guitar strumming… in the leather jacket; the basketball; and you just being you…" Gabriella's hands were running over his chest as he suckled on her neck, little gasps and whimpers escaping from her mouth. She ran her hand down his chest, a finger circled his belly button and then trailed down his snail trail and fell upon the thin cotton of his boxers. "It's been… a _hard_… week."

The _hard_ in her sentence was punctuated with a sly squeeze of what was also a rather hard object.

Troy smirked. "Aww poor Gabriella, being subjected to the smoldering good looks of her boyfriend. However have you survived?"

His hand was now on her thigh, scrunching up the material of her skirt to allow his hand to sneak beneath. Fingers danced teasingly up her inner thigh.

"By waiting very patiently in anticipation for these few hours of Thursday bliss."

"No… intermittent… tension release?" Troy asked coyly.

As if to illustrate his meaning, his fingers began to dance over her pantie covered mound.

"I prefer the real thing."

* * *

Jason was wandering through the school grounds. He'd just spent his lunch break in the film editing studio, working on a piece for a school assignment. As much as he enjoyed working on the films they had to make for class, he was desperate to move on with his own independent piece. Casting was the next big step – but the problem was that every person who would be interested in participating was wrapped up in the school musical. And Jason didn't want to put pressure on anyone to help him – after all, he wasn't offering any compensation, just the feeling of goodwill, knowing they'd helped him out in creating his first masterpiece.

He was contemplating whether to go to home before basketball practice or just bum around at school. He would only have to come back to school if he went home, because the closest bus stop for the route with the University of Albuquerque was across the road from school.

Without even consciously doing so, Jason found himself wandering through the general studies wing which had been adopted for music and the performing arts. The school had lost a lot of music equipment in the fire, however a piano had quickly been acquired and placed in what was the new music room. The piano which now was being played, a beautiful melody echoing through the empty corridor. Jason snuck past, glancing into the room. And there she was, eyes closed, allowing the music to just play itself naturally.

When the piece ended, Jason decided to take the bull by the horns and knocked on the door before opening it slightly. Kelsi smiled brightly at him.

"Hey!" she exclaimed.

"What were you just playing?" he asked.

"Uh… nothing really. Just…. was playing."

"Doing more composing?"

"I'm always composing. Even when it looks like I'm in math class and doing math – in my head, it's all music notes."

Jason grinned. "Yeah. I get that."

She motioned to the camcorder case Jason was clutching a hold of. "For film class or your movie?"

"Class. When do I ever get the chance to work on my own stuff?"

"You're the one who keeps making excuses why you can't start filming."

"I need a cast first Kelsi, and it just so happens that everyone dramatically inclined in this school is involved in YOUR show."

"That's over in a month. Get the word out there now, create a rough filming schedule."

"I guess."

"What time is basketball?"

"4. The bus leaves across the road at 3:30. I was just contemplating whether to go home or bum around. What are you doing here?"

"I was running through a duet with two of the juniors during lunch period, and then after school I am going to orchestra practice to see how they are coming along with the score. And then I have a meeting at 4:30 at Lava Springs with the A Team, as Theodore has decided to start calling us."

"A Team?"

"Yeah, I don't get it. He says it's from some movie or TV show that is obviously before our time."

Jason glanced at his watch. "So uh, were you going to spend the next hour and a half playing or…"

"There's a class in here final period so unfortunately I can't. I should be going to the library to study but somehow I don't think that's going to happen."

"Wanna go for a walk up to the shops?" Jason asked.

"Sure!"

* * *

After wandering around the mall for a couple of hours, Chad and Ryan found themselves in the food court. Chad didn't bat an eye when Ryan went and bought a fresh salad sandwich; however Ryan raised an eyebrow when Chad returned with an extra large Burger King meal.

"Aren't you an athlete?" Ryan asked, glancing down pointedly.

"Yes. Your point?" Chad asked.

"I figured they'd have you on strict diet regimes or something."

Chad shrugged. "Not at high school level. Besides, I don't eat like this ALL the time."

"I was thinking about trying protein shakes. I'm meant to be trying to build up my muscles so I can be better at ballroom style lifts," Ryan said.

"I went on them for a while, they're not bad," Chad said.

When Ryan had first revealed his sexuality to Gabriella, it had been a big deal for him. Something he had contemplated whether he should let go, whether it was time to start talking about it. However in the food court of the mall, in that moment in time, Ryan made a split second spontaneous, impulsive decision that it was time to tell someone else. It wasn't because he wanted Chad to know. It was because it didn't matter. Because he had been able to talk openly about his dance regime and desire to perform in a Broadway show, without a moment of negative judgment being passed.

"Chad?"

Chad could sense the slight hesitation in Ryan's voice. He responded coolly. "Evans."

"What would you say if I told you that I was gay?"

Chad didn't flinch. "Whatever dude. Don't hit on me and don't make me watch it and I'm good." Chad took a bite from his burger, waiting expectantly for Ryan's response.

Ryan was somewhat flabbergasted. At least Gabriella had been a little _surprised_ by it. Chad was so casual, he almost wondered if he had heard him properly.

"Oh," was the only word that Ryan could muster in response.

Chad was amused by Ryan being so taken aback. "Is this a hypothetical, or you telling me?"

Chad knew it was Ryan telling him. Ryan's response was unnecessary.

"Me telling you."

"Like I said. Whatever. To be honest, I already pretty much was certain of it, hey," Chad said.

"Why, because I dance and do musical theatre and wear pink?" Ryan asked, almost bitterly.

He wasn't naïve to the comments that went on behind his back as a result of his choice of extra curricular activity. It insulted him that people thought that all there was to his sexual preferences was an inclination towards participating in stereotypically gay activities.

"No. Because you spent the first half of summer hanging with your sisters super hot friends without hardly looking at them. And since then you've been buddy buddy with Gab and – regardless of Bolton's opinion on the matter – you very obviously don't look at her in that way. And the fact is that a straight single guy could be THAT close to a girl without, at a minimum, checking her out."

"Interesting analysis."

Ryan was still somewhat blown away. He'd told Chad knowing that it wouldn't matter to him either way. But he'd spent years holding back from being honest about who he was, and he'd built himself to believe that telling people would equate to all sorts of bad. The first reveal to Gabriella had gone well, better than well. And now with Chad, it was just as promising.

"I assume Gab knows?" Chad asked.

"Yes. So if you feel the need to gossip about it with someone…"

"I don't."

"Good. That's good."

"Wow, Bolton's gonna feel like an idiot whenever he finds out."

Ryan exhaled noisily. "Does he still have a problem with me?"

"To be honest man, I wouldn't know. Haven't talked to him much lately about anything other than ball," Chad said. "But I get the feeling he's moved beyond it."

* * *

Now with only underwear remaining, between Troy's lightly teasing fingers, his skillful tongue and his powerful kisses, Gabriella was struggling to stand upright. She took control of the situation, turning Troy around and guiding him to the bed where they collapsed in a frantically kissing mess. When she pulled away to take a moment to breath, Troy once again regained control, flipping her over and reversing the position, with his weight now on top of hers. His kisses lazily trailed back down to her neck, while Gabriella's hand was teasing his bulge. She was contemplating the removal of his boxers, his erection literally pushing against the material. However his kisses now trailed further down from her neck, his body snaking down the bed as he took a few minutes to concentrate his attention onto his breasts. Gabriella allowed the attention to continue, whimpering and gasping as his teeth toyed with her nipples and his hands cupped and caressed the warm flesh.

His hands remained upon her breasts, kneading and caressing and teasing. However his tongue traced a line away from her nipples, and instead of trailing back up as they typically would, instead his tongue was now trailing upon her taut stomach. He licked a circle around her navel, eliciting a giggle from Gabriella. His pattern was deliciously erratic and unpredictable, with his lips leaving soft kisses, a tingling feeling remaining in their wake.

Suddenly it became apparent to her that she was now completely out of reach of him, and she pouted somewhat. Between ragged breaths, she managed to say, "You do know that I cannot reach you anymore?"

Troy merely hushed her. He knew he had to take his window of opportunity. If he waited; if he let her have her way and attend to his needs first; she would then inevitably make an excuse about a lack of time being available. And Troy was tired of her excuses. He continued to shift down the bed, now on all fours hovering over her. He held his weight up long enough to hook his thumbs onto her panties and discard them, and then proceeded with planting kisses along her lower abdomen.

As far as Troy was concerned, any straight man who denied having looked at porn was either a liar, a saint, or extremely sad and sheltered. Thanks to Jason's older cousin – who also served as an integral provider of alcoholic beverage s- Troy had a few Playboys in the back corner of his closet. Additionally, he had done a more than a few random internet searches in his time.

Since Gabriella, he'd found mental imagery to be far more stimulating.

However, in preparation for this encounter, Troy had found himself doing a very specific series of Google searches. How to, tips, guides, diagrams, tongue technique, even a video or two. It wasn't for purposes of self pleasure. It was study, homework. Homework which was far more interesting and yet far more complex than trigonometry.

He had maneuvered himself further and further down the bed and now, here he was, hovering over her most private of regions. He could sense her apprehension, could feel the tension in her body.

"You can say no... and I'll stop," he said quietly. He gazed up at her imploringly. "But... but I don't want you to say no."

Fortunately for him, he'd worked her into a state where the word 'no' could not be further away from the vernacular of Gabriella Montez.

"Yes," came Gabriella's raspy response. She emphatically said it again, "Yes."

Troy's immediate response was to continue kissing along her lower abdomen, all the while very slowly, very gently, inserting his index and middle fingers inside of her; pumping slightly. He retracted his fingers, and looked up at her.

"Can you wriggle down?" Troy asked.

Wordlessly, Gabriella obeyed his instruction, allowing him to guide her to be lying half way down the bed, her legs dangling with her feet almost touching the floor. Her heart was pounding. Half of the adrenaline was a welcome anticipation. The other half was hesitant anticipation. Troy grabbed a pillow, nestled it behind her head, and then moved himself off the bed to kneel on the ground at the foot of the bed. She had closed her legs, purely as reflex.

"And now, this might help," he said softly. Gently, Troy placed his hands upon her thighs and pried her legs apart.

"It's... it's instinctive for a lady to keep her legs together," Gabriella replied.

"You're not a lady," Troy murmured between soft kisses along her right upper thigh. "You're a hot, sexy, sensual woman."

It was a visual feast. Gabriella hadn't tried to hide the first time she'd taken a good, close look at his manhood; and there was no way that Troy would be capable of suppressing his urge to stare long and hard at every inch, every morsel of her womanly centre. Her eyes were closed, however she could feel his eyes upon her, she knew exactly just how intently he was staring at her. A part of him was taking his time with the visual inspection to allow himself a moment of last minute preparation. He could feel his heart beating at an increased rate. He had been so focused for so long on the notion of WANTING to do this, on preparing for it both physically and mentally – that he had blocked out the fear that he may very well be unable to perform. Suddenly, that pressure was niggling at him.

"Disclaimer… Troy has no idea what he's doing," Troy murmured, his breath tickling against her bare skin.

Gabriella could hear the slight trepidation is his tone. Suddenly, she felt rather self involved. She'd been so focused upon her own hesitations to allow him to perform such a selfless act that she hadn't allowed herself to contemplate his own fears.

"I have one rule and that is no biting," she quipped, reiterating the rule he had set down when she was first giving him a blow job.

Troy cracked a smile and took a breath. The moment that his hands pried her folds apart and his tongue ran tentatively up her slit, a gasp escaped from Gabriella's mouth. He was starting slow, attempting to get his bearings. He began by trailing his tongue along her inner labia; then was teasing at her opening. Her ragged breaths and pants told him that he was doing something right.

Gabriella's eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling, but the ceiling itself was fuzzy. When he fingered her, the lead up period was always _nice_ but it wasn't _wow_**.** Every moment here was a wow moment. From the first connection of his tongue to her most private of regions, it was a wow moment. It was more than physical. There was some intangible element, the eroticism of the act itself. Her eyes darted around, finally allowing herself to look down at the man with his face nestled between her thighs. Troy allowed his line of vision to drift up, yet not causing a break within his rhythm. It was at the very moment when their gazes met, the moment when he looked up and saw her blown away expression, when his teasing tongue found the spot she so desired him to find. One languorous lick, finally hitting her clit, was all it took to educe an undulated, guttural moan of ecstasy.

As a female, for Gabriella's whole life she had been conditioned to cover up and sit with her legs together - preferably crossed. And here she was, naked, a deliciously stunning man's hands firmly upon her thighs holding her legs spread apart, his lips and tongue working magic to pleasure her - and it was the most incredibly, exhilarating, pleasurable experience of her life thus far.

"Oh... oh... oh my God..." Gabriella gasped.

"I do believe my name is Troy, not God," Troy murmured, lifting his head momentarily, before continuing the tongue flicking motion.

"Right now you are God."

"Told you this would be good," Troy said cockily.

"Stop talking," she commanded, her hands falling onto the back of his head, raking her fingers through his hair as she guided him back down.

Troy was more than willing to oblige.

* * *

"This has been cool," Chad said.

Chad held out his hand to Ryan, in a farewell hand shake offer. The guys were standing in the parking lot next to Chad's rusty old car. Ryan's was parked further back in the lot - a lesson taught by his father, that when you have a nice car, park it in the back corner so its less likely to be hit in the side by someone's door opening. Ryan accepted the outstretched hand.

"Yeah it has," Ryan agreed. "If I said, we should do it again sometime, would you take that as me hitting on you?"

Chad laughed. "No. Coz we should. Sometimes it's cool to talk about something other than basketball."

"So we talked about baseball instead?"

Chad shrugged. "Well, don't tell Troy, but I think I prefer baseball. Only just slightly."

"Why, coz you're the hot shot on the team?"

Ryan's tone was sarcastic, however they both knew that there was an element of truth to the statement.

"Anyway... so I have basketball practice and have to go by my house first so better take off."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Chad jumped into his car, and Ryan proceeded to head to the back corner of the lot where he had left his car. As he was walking, he listened to the sound of Chad's engine revving but not turning over. Ryan turned around, and headed back.

"Fuck!" Chad cused.

He pulled the lever to pop the bonnet and the trunk, and got out of the car. He went around to the back, retrieving his mini emergency auto tool kit, and headed around to open the bonnet.

"Need a hand?" Ryan called.

"You good at auto mechanics?"

"My version of auto mechanics is to call road service."

"Then could you hold this torch over here so I can see?"

"Sure."

Ryan was impressed, Chad certainly seemed to know his way around an engine. He poked and prodded his way around what, to Ryan, was simply a bunch of metal thingy-whatsits.

"Hang on… shine that here will you?"

Ryan complied.

"Fuck. Fucking spark plugs. I knew I had to change them but I've been putting it off."

"The… the what?" Ryan said.

"The spark plugs. They are… is there any point in explaining?"

"Not really," Ryan admitted. "Is it a big deal?"

"Not really. I have spares at home and I'm capable of doing it myself. It's just a pain in the ass is all."

"I'm available til 4:30, I can drive you home to get this sparkly whatsit and back here," Ryan offered.

Chad hesitated. "Uh... don't wanna put you out, man, it's okay."

"It's fine!" Ryan insisted. "All I would do is go to Lava Springs early and muck around in the music room and avoid doing my homework... shit... don't tell Gabriella I said that."

Chad cracked a smile, and then nodded, somewhat tentatively. "Okay. All right then. Let's do it."

* * *

Gabriella's climax was one of the most incredibly surreal experiences of Troy's life thus far. Her left hand was grasping onto his shoulder, with fingernails were leaving slight indentations. Her right hand morphed from slightly raking through his hair to clenching at his hair. However, Troy felt no pain. Her pelvis was involuntarily bucking, he could feel the slight pulses of her clitoris under his tongue. His eyes drifted up to watch her. To watch the relaxed, blissful expression become contorted with overwhelming pleasure and shock. Her whimpers and gasps had suddenly escalated into a full blown moan of undulated ecstasy.

Between their encounters thus far and his research, Troy knew that maintaining his action, despite the hair clenching and spasming pelvis, was essential to ensuring the experience was prolonged. So he firmly held her down, hands capturing her hips, to continue with a light flicking of the tongue until her strangled cries and moans subsided to being whimpers and contented breathing. With one final languid lick, Troy removed himself from her centre. He trailed kisses up her taut stomach, and snaked his way up until he was lying beside her, propped up by his elbow and allowing himself to gaze lovingly and observe her after shock.

Gabriella was struggling to breathe. She was in a place she didn't know existed. Suddenly, the last thing she was thinking about was her retarded position on the bed or feeling self conscious.

"Oh my God," she gasped, chocolate eyes meeting blue. "Oh… I can't… I don't… oh…"

"Not bad for my first go, huh?" Troy said softly, somewhat cockily.

"I didn't realise that it was humanely possible to feel THAT good," Gabriella said, her flushed skin and starry faraway expression evidence of the aftershock. Her breathing was still erratic, however she kissed him softly, tasting the slightly sweet taste of herself.

"Nothing gross about that, is there?" Troy teased, recalling her reaction when he had been so brazen to kiss her when the situation had been flipped.

Gabriella didn't respond, just smiled coyly and kissed him again, this time with her hand snaking down south in the midst of her zealous kiss. She had an overwhelming desire to be touching him, tasting him – all of him. Her hand enclosed over his bulge, which was constrained by his boxers.

"Shouldn't that have gone away? Without being… teased… for so long?" Gabriella enquired with a slight blush.

"Hmm.. except that I happen to find every inch of you to be insatiably arousing."

"Can I attempt to… satiate you?"

Troy glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table. "You'll be on a timeline."

"I like a challenge as much as you."

* * *

Ryan pulled up outside Chad's house in record time. He knew Chad was getting antsy, having glanced at his watch multiple times throughout the drive. He assumed it was just a matter of Chad being worried about getting to basketball on time.

"All right. I'll just run in and grab it," Chad said swiftly. "Won't be long."

"You mind if I came in and used your bathroom?" Ryan asked.

Chad swallowed. What could he do, say _NO you may NOT use our bathroom. _Because what Ryan didn't realise was that his discomfort was about more than being late to practice.

"Err... okay. I guess."

Ryan raised an eyebrow at Chad's response. "Uh... if that's a problem..."

"No no, don't be silly," Chad insisted in a hurry, attempting to sound normal. "Uh... the house is a bit of a mess is all."

Ryan shrugged. "You haven't seen my room, have you?"

"You strike me as an 'everything in its perfect place' type of person."

"Everywhere but in my room. That's my little safe haven of chaos, to the housekeepers disgust."

Ryan followed Chad up to the house, as Chad unlocked the front door.

"Jayme?" Chad called out.

It was only just after school time, but he knew his sister should just barely be home. Her bus left the elementary school promptly five minutes after the final bell, and it was less than ten minutes up the road.

"In the living room," she called back.

Chad pointed up the corridor for Ryan. "Up there, third door on the left."

Chad watched as Ryan disappeared up the hallway, and then quickly went into the living room.

"You doing your homework?" he asked sharply, seeing his sister's eyes glued to MTV.

"Wasn't given any."

How Chad longed for the days of elementary school and no homework.

"Next year that'll be different," Chad said knowingly. "Did ma call?"

"Yup, message on the machine. She's working again," Jayme said scornfully.

He wandered into the kitchen, seeing dishes everywhere. To say that the house was a bit of a mess was an understatement.

"I thought I asked you to run the dishwasher when you got home," Chad called in exasperation.

"I was going to but we've run out of powder."

"Oh."

Chad flung open the door of the fridge. And it seemed they'd also run out of juice and milk and butter and anything edible.

"Pizza again it looks like," Chad said out loud.

"I put the mail on the counter," Jayme called.

"Thanks," Chad called back.

Chad began to sort through the mail. Overdue bill. Overdue bill. Final notice. Final notice. He flung them down.

"What's all that?" Ryan's voice came from the doorway.

Chad spun around. "Oh. Thought you were in the bathroom."

"How long do you think it takes me to pee?"

"True." Chad laughed nervously, seeing Ryan glancing at the bills. He shuffled them into a pile and shoved them underneath a newspaper which was lying haphazardly on the counter. "Must be some kind of mix up... I think mom's been having problems with her bank transfers or... something."

"Oh," Ryan said quietly.

"Chad, what time are you gonna be home?" Jayme called.

"Why?"

"Mom said in the message that she wants me to go next door if you're not home by 7."

Chad went into the living room again. "I'll be home by then. Looks like we might have to go out and do some grocery shopping."

"With what money?" Jayme asked pointedly.

"Uh... ma gave me money. It's cool," Chad said.

"Doesn't your mother's boyfriend normally do this stuff?" Ryan asked quietly, somewhat hesitantly.

Chad was surprised. Evidently the grapevine at East High wasn't working at its full capacity. Or perhaps that both Taylor and Troy had the respect to keep their mouths closed.

"Umm… he used to," Chad said tactfully.

"The fuckwit took off," Jayme said darkly.

"Jayme Louise!" Chad exclaimed, mortified at the language he had just heard come out of his baby sisters mouth. "Watch your mouth."

"You and Troy say it all the time."

Chad could almost have laughed out loud. When was the last time that Troy had been around?

"Hey, I'm Chad's buddy Ryan," Ryan said cheerfully.

"I'm Chad's annoying little sister Jayme," she said cheerfully. "At least, that's probably how he would describe me."

"Okay, so Ryan and I are going back to the mall to fix my car..."

"I thought David said your car was supposed to be really good?"

"Yeah, David said a lot of things didn't he?" Chad said a little darkly. "Anyway. Yeah. Then I have basketball practice and then I'll come straight home so we can go out and get food so we don't starve. Deal?"

"It's all good."

"So you know the drill, if the phone..."

"If the phone rings, mom is in the shower and leave the door locked and no friends over and call you if ANYTHING goes wrong and if I can't reach you call Troy's mom," Jayme finished. "Tell Troy I said hi, by the way."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Will do."

Chad went upstairs to quickly grab his basketball gear and then to the garage to acquire the necessary supplies. Ryan remained in the living area making small talk with Chad's sister about the music clip that was on the television. Once Chad reappeared, the boys headed in silence back to Ryan's car. The silence was unbearable for Ryan.

"So, Jayme seems like a bright kid."

Chad nodded. "She's one of the smartest in her class. Not sure where she got these genes from. They obviously skipped me."

They fell silent again. Ryan couldn't bear it.

"Are you gonna explain about… everything?"

Chad sighed. "You weren't meant to see that."

"Well now that's obvious. And it makes sense why you were weird about me driving you here and then about me using your bathroom. So I'm back at, explain."

"It's not a big deal."

"Chad," Ryan said firmly.

"Well. David left to start with. Did you really not hear about that?"

Ryan shook his head. "No."

"Yeah. Well, he left at the worst possible time, just before rent was due, and right at the bills time of month, leaving us with bills that he normally pays half of. As it was it was kind of a, making ends meet situation. It just sorta snowballed. So my mom has taken on a second job temporarily and is hardly here… hence… the chaos."

"And you haven't told anyone about any of this?"

"Taylor and Bolton know about David leaving but… not the rest."

"You should talk to people about it," Ryan said firmly.

"Tell you what Ryan, the day that you start telling people all about your little secrets, maybe I will," Chad retorted.

"I didn't suggest you put a broadcast out there, I suggested that you should talk to people you can trust."

Chad's laugh was almost hollow. "About now I'm thinking that's pretty much only you."

"You and Troy have been best friends for years, as if you can't trust him! And, I know things were weird with you and Tay for a while but I thought it was all cool now?"

"Bolton… I don't know what the fuck is going on with him. But Troy lives in this little fantasy land in the giant house with the white picket fence. He doesn't want to hear about all this shit. And as for Taylor, okay, so her situation isn't perfect and I guess it is cool now. But… I just don't want to talk to her about it. Taylor… she would want to come and try and fix it, to fix me. I don't need her to come fix me. I can look after it myself, I want to prove that I can do this."

"Prove to who?"

"To everyone," Chad said firmly, before adding as an after thought. "And to myself."

* * *

Troy was bustling about Gabriella's room, getting changed into his basketball uniform – which he had preemptively brought along – and proceeded to pick up the items of his discarded clothing to shove them in his bag. He was almost experiencing a sense of déjà vu, with Gabriella was lounging about in her bed wearing his shirt.

"You know, I'm not gonna have any clothes left soon if you steal all my shirts," Troy remarked.

"Okay, I KNOW that I have a pair of panties missing so you are not one to criticise me for taking your shirts. I at least wear your shirts to bed. I would hope you aren't secretly wearing my panties."

Troy smirked. "Dammit… I picked a pair from your drawer that I knew didn't specifically match a bra and hoped you wouldn't realise."

Troy was saved by the bell – or rather, his ringing phone. He glanced at the screen.

"Chad, sup man?"

"Can you tell coach I'm running late? My car broke down."

"Uh… okay… but I'm kinda running late also. But I'm about to leave."

"At Gabriella's?"

"Yeah."

"Nice. Well, I'm still sorting out the car situation so I'm pretty sure you'll get there before me."

"Do you need me to pick you up?"

"Nah man it's sweet."

"You sure?"

"I'm good. I'll see you soon."

Troy hung up, glancing at his cell slightly mystified. "I swear that guy is acting weirder than ever," he muttered.

"Hmm?" Gabriella asked.

"Nothing," Troy said. He picked up his gym bag, and turned to where she was loafing in her bed. "Do you know how difficult it is leaving here to go to practice every week? And then like, actually concentrate?"

"Why, when because you're a boy all you want is to have a nap after you orgasm?"

"How do you know about that stuff?"

Gabriella smiled. "You should know by now that I am a fountain of wisdom in areas far beyond math and science."

"That you are."

Troy sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over to kiss her softly. "I'm glad you… enjoyed that."

"Enjoyed is a slight understatement."

"I'll call you later on, okay?" Troy murmured.

Gabriella watched after him as he left the room. There was the moment in time where Troy was in the doorway, looking back at her longingly, when Gabriella felt like jumping off her bed and running after him. Then a moment later, the space in the door way was empty – and it hurt. She stared into the blankness.

And then – he reappeared, rushing back into the room, slightly breathless.

"One more kiss."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Just a quick thank you to everyone who has been so lovely and supportive of my work lately. I've been really busy with this family reunion thing that's been going in the real world and so I may not have been as responsive to your reviews/PMs/etc lately but truly know how touched I have been by all of your feedback. Just about all of the spare energy I have is channelled into this fandom and into my writing so even if you don't hear from me directly, know that your words are most definitely appreciated and provide a fountain of motivation to write :-)

-Dani xo


	29. Chapter 29

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**

* * *

****Chapter 29**

If there were four girls who were less apt to be clothes shopping together, it was the four who were in the middle of the Cottonwood Mall mid Saturday morning. They had arrived with high hopes, but soon felt overwhelmed within the plethora of stores featuring varying materials, styles and price ranges. A few minutes were spent staring blankly at the store directory, in the hope of some shining beacon of light appearing over the name of _the_ store.

"I've lived here for my whole life and I never realised there were this many fashion outlets here," Taylor said, in complete bewilderment. "However, I can lead you with my eyes closed to the book store."

"I go to the same stores and never even try to go into any of these. You see, the clothing in most of these stores are produced in twig size and twig size only."

"I hear you sister," Taylor agreed. "But since we're here for Kelsi, that means they are all perfect."

"Which of these do you think will have a cute hat?" Kelsi asked, tilting her head sideways in contemplation as she studied the store names.

Gabriella looked somewhat aghast. "You're going to wear a hat tonight? We decide to come shopping to get you a new outfit for the big date and you want to buy a new _hat_?"

"I like hats," Kelsi said defensively. "And… and I feel comfortable wearing a hat."

"But you can't wear a hat!"

"Why can't she? It's her style," Martha pointed out.

"Gabriella thinks that because she went clothes shopping with the head cheerleader once over summer break, that she's now the queen of fashion," Taylor said teasingly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Hardly. I just think that tonight is special and that we should be trying to find you something special to wear."

"It's just dinner and a movie. It's hardly 'special'," Kelsi pointed out, raising her eyebrows and using her fingers to demonstrate the quotation marks around the word special.

"It is not _just_ dinner and a movie!" Gabriella exclaimed indignantly. "It is a dinner and a movie which we have all been waiting to happen since… like… February. It is a dinner and a movie that will define the possible future relationship that you and Jason may have."

Kelsi blinked, her mouth gaping slightly. "No pressure on me, or anything."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Gabriella said. "I just meant… that it is a big deal. You should be excited about it."

"I am excited," Kelsi insisted. "I would just much prefer that I felt comfortable. If you know what I mean."

"Of course we do. And I'm sure we can find something that is both special and comfortable all in one," Martha the peacemaker said, trying to find a happy medium. "So… where to?"

* * *

After teaching his golf classes at Lava Springs, as he had promised Troy headed straight to Jason's house. He rang the doorbell, waiting a whole minute with no response. He rang the doorbell again, now tapping his foot as he waited impatiently on the door step. A minute later, Zeke flung the door open and poked his head into view, his body shielded by the door.

"Escape while you can!" Zeke hissed.

"Huh?" Troy asked, shaking his head in confusion. "I thought we were gonna play the new Playsta…"

"Is that Troy?" Jason's voice called from behind. Zeke winced and reluctantly pulled the door open the whole way, revealing Jason appearing from behind. "Troy, buddy, maybe you'll be more useful than these two."

Zeke sighed. _Too late_ he mouthed to Troy.

"More useful?" Troy repeated, still confused. "What's going on?"

"I need your help. I have to organise tonight," Jason explained, stepping back to allow Troy to step in.

"Organise?" Troy echoed once again. He slid his checked Vans off and left them among a pile of shoes by the door. He then turned back to Jason, arms folding across his chest. "I thought you were taking her to dinner and a movie."

"I am."

"You've booked a table at a restaurant?"

"Yeah."

"You're borrowing your mom's wheels?"

"Yeah."

"You have enough cash in your wallet?"

"Yeah."

"Then you're organised," Troy said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Says the guy who took Gabriella on an elaborate tour of Albuquerque for their first date," Chad muttered.

"Hey that was… that was different!" Troy said defensively.

"What, you had to make up for your lack of appeal and work harder to impress Gabriella?" Zeke asked.

"Nice one," Chad complimented with a laugh. Chad and Zeke exchanged a quick slapping punching finger wiggling hand shake.

Jason rolled his eyes, and turned away in a huff to take the stairs two at a time. Troy followed Jason to his bedroom somewhat curiously. Zeke and Chad followed but with hesitation within their step – given they had already been in and witnessed the clothing explosion.

As he entered the room, Troy's eyes widened and he let out a low whistle. "Fuck man. You've got more shirts than a chick."

Jason had emptied his closet onto the bed. Literally. "I don't own _anything_ right for a date," he stressed.

"What's wrong with a nice polo and jeans? Or one of these button down shirts?" Troy asked. He picked up a shirt and held it up, almost as though imagining Jason wearing it.

"I don't know. None of them are right."

Troy took a moment, realising just what they were discussing. He took a step back and threw the shirt back onto the bed in disgust. "I can't believe we're discussing what you're going to wear on a date. I thought you asked us round to hang out. If you wanted advice about this shit, you should have gotten Paula or someone to come help."

"I wasn't worried about it, when I texted you and asked you to come round it really was to hang. I nearly fell over when you were actually available to come, to be honest. But then this dickhead asked me if I was nervous," Jason said, motioning to Chad.

"I didn't think you'd start freaking out," Chad said indignantly. "I was just making conversation."

"You couldn't have asked me about… about… the Lakers or something?"

"I dunno why you're freaking out man," Troy said. "Kelsi is totally into you. Trust me on that. So let's go play some ball."

"That's all well and good for you to say dude, being the guy in the super serious relationship," Jason said. "I'm the guy who hasn't been on a date in, like, forever."

"Since you got to know Kelsi?" Zeke supplied knowingly.

"Well… yeah. But this _has_ to go well. I'm sick of being the loser without a girl. It was okay before you and Monica got your shit together but now it's just pathetic."

The other guys let out collective sighs of exasperation. Jason liked to act like he was this total loveless loser but they all knew that he was the one who had shut himself off from flirting with other girls since the championship after party the year before. The championship after party where suddenly, Jason seemed to take a shine to the petite, enthusiastic composer.

"You should thank me and Mon for getting our shit together if that's what made you finally snap and ask Kelsi out," Zeke said. "Troy's right, let's go play some ball."

* * *

Kelsi was becoming slightly frustrated. Slightly being the understatement of the century. Gabriella's enthusiasm for Kelsi to find the 'perfect special outfit' had been infectius, now with Taylor also fixated upon the idea. Kelsi had hoped that the practical Taylor would be on her side. She appreciated the sentiment but at the same time, she would much had preferred to have gone about preparing for the date in her own way. When Gabriella had suggested they hang out at the mall, Kelsi had really thought it would be to hang out at the mall. Not that it would become a search for a needle within a haystack. Kelsi had been stubborn, refusing to try on every item that the girls had suggested. Finally she relented, humouring Gabriella by taking a couple of nice dresses into the changing room. Kelsi couldn't deny that the dresses were adorable. However not only were they ridiculously out of her budget, but they were also over the top for a first date.

"Uh, I think I'd rather just get a new nice top and wear it with jeans," Kelsi said, somewhat timidly. _And a hat_ she thought.

Martha smiled sympathetically at Kelsi. Taylor and Gabriella meant well, but Martha could see Kelsi's politness wearing thin, the frustration boiling over. Martha spotted a cute navy blue sparkly halter top.

"Try this," she suggested. "I think it would look adorable on you."

Kelsi gave her friend a grateful smile. "Oh, this is so cute!"

"That is cute," Gabriella said wistfully. "Gorgeous colour, it would look awesome on you."

"Try it," Taylor urged.

Kelsi emerged not long later.

"What do you think?" she asked. "I have dark grey skinny leg jeans that I would probably wear with it."

"Adorable, just like I said," Martha said.

"It's more than adorable, it's hot," Gabriella declared. "And… I guess you're right, maybe I was going a bit overboard with the dress thing. But if you don't buy that top, I just might buy it for myself."

"Like you need cute clothes any more," Taylor said wryly.

Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Don't they just get taken off?"

"Taylor!" Gabriella gasped, slapping her on the arm, blushing. "Like you can talk."

Taylor scoffed. "You and Troy are way worse than Chad and I."

"They have the months of pent up sexual frustration to let out," Martha pointed out cheekily.

"Okay stop talking about Troy and I. Today is about Kelsi."

* * *

Finally, the guys had managed to convince Jason that it was highly inappropriate to be sitting around on a Saturday afternoon discussing fashion. They'd gone out to Jason's driveway for a rigorous game of two-on-two, and then went back inside to grab drinks and sprawl out in the backyard at the outdoor dining table.

"What are you guys doing tonight?" Zeke asked Chad and Troy.

The guys glanced at one another and shrugged.

"Something with Gabriella," Troy said.

Chad answered in perfect unison, "Something with Taylor."

"Dang. Monica has some family thing on," Zeke informed them.

"Now you know how I felt when I had nothing to do on a Saturday night," Jason said smugly.

"I might give some of the new kids on our team a call," Zeke mused. "Benny is freaking hilarious, don't you think?"

"Hilarious and a hell of a player. You should have seen him the other day practicing free throws," Chad remarked.

"When was this?" Troy asked.

"I guess it was Thursday after practice. I stayed to help your dad pack up," Chad said.

"Oh," was all that Troy said.

Once upon a time, it would have been Troy staying to help pack up. Then again, he would be waiting for his dad for a lift and would be roped into assisting with the pack up process. A couple of recent times Troy had offered his assistance, only to be fobbed off.

_"Go on, I know you have to work on that song thing," Jack would say, waving his hand away._

"Hi boys," Mrs Cross said, entering the backyard.

"Hi Mrs Cross," Zeke, Chad and Troy said cheerfully in unison.

"Jason, remember our deal?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Our deal?" he repeated.

"To let you borrow the car?"

"Oh, you were serious about that, were you?" Jason said meekly, wincing.

"Very."

"Damn."

"Better get cracking."

Jason sighed in exasperation as she left.

"What was the deal?" Troy asked.

"I have to wash _and_ vacuum the car," he said, somewhat despondently. "Don't suppose you all wanna help?"

Although both Troy and Chad had taken to washing and polishing their own vehicles rather lovingly, neither were particularly inclined to help someone else with car maintenance.

"Uh… I have… to go to a rehearsal," Troy said lamely, blatantly lying.

"And I have to help my mom with the gardening," Chad said quickly.

"I won't make up an excuse, I'd just rather not help," Zeke said honestly.

* * *

Kelsi had one not very serious boyfriend at East High. At the beginning of sophomore year she had gone with a deep and contemplative violinist in the string orchestra named Lee. He was accepted to a highly exclusive music program and left East High, and she still kept in contact with him. And then there was Dane, who she had met at band camp over the summer between sophomore year and junior year. Their affair had been semi serious. If he didn't live in Washington DC, about as far away from New Mexico as you could get, then perhaps Kelsi could have really fallen for him.

She'd never really paid attention to the people outside of her immediate circle at East High. It wasn't a snobbery thing, or a clique thing. It was just that Kelsi was so passionate about her music that she never seemed to look up from her scribblings. It was to her own surprise that after forging a very different friendship group, she found herself filled with all sorts of new inspiration and motivation for her song writing.

She was feeling extremely nervous about her date with Jason. It wasn't about the date itself. She'd spent enough time hanging and chatting with Jason to know that they wouldn't end up lost for words. It was more on the pressure associated on going on a date. The expectations; expectations which were more than exacerbated by her good intentioned friends.

"So now that Kelsi has a boyfriend…" Taylor began to say, as the girls were sitting around outside the juice bar.

"Uh, this is one date, not exactly a boyfriend girlfriend cementing ritual," Kelsi reminded her, shuffling uncomfortably.

"Whatever. Close enough. It'll happen. As I was saying… so now, we just need to find Martha a boyfriend."

Martha scoffed. "Like that will ever happen. I should just become a lesbian, maybe it would make life easier."

"What are you talking about?" Gabriella demanded.

"I have accepted the fact that I am just not what the typical American male is attracted to and that…"

"You don't want the typical American male. You deserve better," Taylor declared.

"Okay so you don't like my lesbian plan. Maybe I'll just live in a mansion with a dozen cats," Martha suggested. Her tone was bitter. The girls were used to Martha's self degrading rants.

"I don't even have the energy to argue with you today," Taylor said.

"Taylor, no energy to argue?" Gabriella teased. "Chad wearing you out?"

Kelsi glanced at her watch. "I should get going soon, I have a lot of stuff I have to do this afternoon."

"Oh, and I have dance class," Martha said, realising what the time was.

"Oh, but I wanted to go check out Fanzz," Gabriella pouted. Fanzz was the sporting goods and apparel store.

Taylor stared at her. "I'm sorry, I've been hanging out with Chad a lot lately. What did you just say?"

Gabriella smiled. "You heard right. I want to go look for a present for Troy."

"I'll stay hang with you. We could get the bus back home," Taylor suggested.

"When are you buying a car? I'm used to being driven around," Gabriella asked with a slight giggle.

"The bus should be luxury compared to your boyfriends bombs," Martha remarked. "Sure you don't want a ride?"

"We're good," Taylor said.

Gabriella hugged Kelsi. "I want a phone call tomorrow with all the details. Wait, no tonight. Hang on… maybe not tonight. Tomorrow."

"Why don't I just send out periodic group text messages throughout dinner keeping you updated as the night goes on?" Kelsi suggested sarcastically.

"That could work," Gabriella said seriously.

* * *

Chad, Troy and Zeke had escaped from Jason's house, imparting words of wisdom as they had left.

"_Have fun,"_ Zeke had said cheerfully.

"_Be yourself,"_ Troy had said solemnly.

"_Hook in,"_ Chad had said slyly.

Zeke had taken off, claiming that he wanted to bake a batch of cookies to take over to Monica's the next day when they were hanging out – which Chad and Troy had of course given him endless teasing for.

"So, do you really have a rehearsal?" Chad asked Troy, as they hung between their two cars.

Troy shook his head. "No. Do you really have to help your mom with gardening?"

"Fuck no."

"Wanna hang?"

"Sure."

"Yours or mine?"

"Uh, yours," Chad said quickly. "I think Jayme has a bunch of friends over today."

"I can hardly remember the last time I was at your place," Troy remarked.

"That's coz my place is a shit hole, and you have more food in the cupboard and a better hoop."

Troy laughed. "Maybe."

* * *

Gabriella was beginning to regret ever getting into her head that she should get Troy a 'just because' present. She and Taylor had been walking around in Fanzz for over a half hour, sorting mindlessly through equipment and apparel which had little meaning to either of the girls. They were currently in the shoes and socks area which was in the back corner of the store.

"I must be crazy, thinking that I could actually get Troy something basketball related and get it right. Everything here is the same to me. Like, I know that when he works out, he uses those sweat band things for his wrists. And to me, they look all old and tatty. But how do I know when he considers his old ones to be outdated?"

"Gabriella," Taylor said.

Taylor had seen something far more interesting than any item for sale in the store. However, Gabriella was on a roll with her dilemma, not taking in the slight panic in Taylor's tone.

"And he has about fourteen basketballs which to me are all exactly the same, but he'll buy a new one which is apparently 'better' but how can it be better when there is a standard issue size and colour?"

"Gabriella!" Taylor hissed, more insistently, grabbing onto her friends arm.

She gestured toward the back wall, where the 'Staff Only' sign was on a door. Standing just outside that door was a familiar girl with a male companion.

"That's Monica, I forgot that she worked here," Gabriella remarked.

As Gabriella spoke the words, it hit her just why Taylor had a look of panic on her face. Gabriella took a step back, her eyes widening as she observed Monica's hands entwined in the boy's as they stood talking casually.

"Maybe he's a cousin or something," Gabriella said in a feigned optimism.

However there was something very uncousinly about the flirtatious giggle which echoed through the room, and the brush of her hand along his arm.

"He looks familiar," Taylor said. "Is he…"

Gabriella squinted. "A Knight?"

"I think so."

"They could just be friends?" Gabriella suggested, still clutching at straws.

Gabriella had been desperate to remain oblivious to what was becoming glaringly evident. However as the pair leaned toward one another, exchanging fluids in the process of a lingering kiss, even Gabriella wasn't able to deny what they had observed.

"If you kiss your friends like that, I'd like you to stay the hell away from Chad," Taylor said.

The girls were silent as they watched the remainder of the scene unfold. The pair parted, Monica heading in through the staff only section and the boy heading toward the shop exit. Taylor counted in her head to ten, before she grabbed onto Gabriella and pulled her from the store. Once outside and seated on a nearby bench, they allowed themselves to digest and discuss.

"Oh my God," Gabriella breathed. "This is… this is disastrous. What do we do?"

"We're gonna have to tell Zeke, that's what," Taylor said despondently.

"But… oh gosh. How? How can we do that? He's going to be devastated! After spending so long hung up on Sharpay, he finally is trying to move on and…"

"Exactly. It's better that he knows, and sooner rather than later."

"Maybe… maybe it wasn't what it looked like. A genuine mishap…"

"Gabriella, it looked like they'd been hanging out together. Then they kissed. Mutually. No… sudden kiss from him, so disgusted pushing him away from her."

"I know," Gabriella said in a small voice. "I just… I hate this. Zeke's been so happy. And not fake happy, like happy because Sharpay gave him a random look. But… maybe all this time it was fake happy because how can it be real when she… if she…"

"And you're happy and so you want everyone else to be happy like you?" Taylor queried sympathetically.

Gabriella nodded. "Isn't that how you feel?"

"I think you and Troy are in a category of happiness that exceeds anyone else," Taylor said. There was no bitterness to her tone; rather it was a factual observation.

"It hardly seems fair. Zeke's a good guy, he deserves to be happy." Gabriella exhaled. "Okay. So. How do we tell him?"

"Maybe we should ask Chad and Troy what they think. I mean… they know him better than we do," Taylor suggested.

Gabriella liked this idea. She liked the idea because a part of her brain was already thinking that maybe she could pleadingly ask Troy to do the dirty work for her. She was quick to pick up her cell and dial Troy's number. Despite her spark of hope that maybe there was a way that she and Taylor could escape from such an awful duty, she felt a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. Not since the early, flirtatious stages of their relationship had she felt nervous about calling him.

"_Hey you,"_ Troy's soft reply came through the phone.

"Hey," Gabriella said, somewhat tentatively.

"_Hi Gab!"_ she heard Chad's voice in the background.

"_Are you okay?" _Troy asked. _"You sound weird."_

"Is Chad at your place?" Gabriella asked, blatantly ignoring the question.

"_Uh yeah, we were at Jason's and then Chad and I came back here to hang. Did you girls go shopping?"_

"Uh huh. Tay and I are still at the mall. Martha and Kelsi went home. We're just about to get the bus home."

Troy was offended by this notion. _"You damn well are not getting the bus. We'll come pick you girls up."_

"Oh… you don't have to," Gabriella said.

"_Don't be stupid, we're just bumming around. We'll be there in like fifteen minutes, okay? Cinema entrance."_

Gabriella hung up. "Troy said they're going to come pick us up."

"Oh good. I really don't like the bus."

* * *

The girls ambled over to the front entrance of the cinema. It was about twenty minutes later when they spotted Troy and Chad approaching from the car park.

"Chad wants to get food, you mind if we go back in?" Troy asked.

He kissed Gabriella sweetly on the cheek.

"That's cool," Taylor said.

"Maybe we could check out Fanzz," Chad suggested.

"NO!" Taylor and Gabriella yelped simultaneously.

Chad raised his eyebrows. "I know we talk about basketball a lot but to be fair, you girls talk about math and… stuff… and…"

"That's not why we don't wanna go there," Gabriella said.

"Then why not?" Troy asked.

"Let's go to the food court," Taylor suggested grimly.

The boys were mystified, but agreed nevertheless. Both Chad and Troy, with bottomless pits within their stomachs, purchased more food than the girls would eat in a day.

"Sure you don't want anything?" Troy asked. "Not even one of your chocolate shakey things?"

Gabriella barely managed to smile. "Even if I wanted one, I couldn't drink or eat anything right now."

Finally, Troy and Chad were seated across from Gabriella and Taylor at a table.

"So, what's going on?" Chad asked expectantly.

"We need to ask your advice about something," Taylor said.

The guys glanced at each other. "Umm… is it basketball related? That's kinda the extent of our expertise," Troy pointed out.

"No, it's not about basketball," Gabriella said. "Umm… okay. If you… if you knew something about someone… a something that you shouldn't know about someone but its something that the someone shouldn't be doing and that something would affect someone… a different someone… and this something would hurt the different someone…"

Chad and Troy glanced at each other, clearly bewildered.

"Gab. You need to be more specific for us jocks," Chad advised. "Dude, do you have to decipher this sort of garble all the time?"

Taylor cleared her throat, and sat up a little straighter. "Umm… Okay. Earlier today here at the mall… you know, earlier when we were here with Kelsi and Martha… Kelsi bought a new top for tonight. And then Gabriella and I left the other two…what time was that… I guess around 1:30… and we…"

"And do you always have to put up with her not getting to the point," Troy remarked to Chad.

The girls exchanged an exasperated glance – not exasperated with the guys, but rather with themselves. If they were experiencing this much difficulty telling Troy and Chad about it; how on earth were they going to find the words to tell Zeke what they had witnessed.

Gabriella took a deep breath, summoning the courage from deep within. "We saw Monica making out with a guy. And… and not Zeke."

Silence fell upon the table momentarily. Chad almost choked on the mouthful of softdrink he had just taken. Troy dropped the few fries he had just picked up back onto his tray.

"Are you sure?" Troy asked quietly. "I mean we were with Zeke so obviously it wasn't him but… are you sure about the rest?"

"Maybe… maybe it wasn't what it looked like. Was it… when you say making out, are we talking… like a kiss like how I might kiss my aunt or…" Chad began to say.

"If you kiss your aunt like we saw her kissing this guy then we have a problem," Taylor said quietly.

"Was it someone we know?" Troy asked, his tone hushed.

"Umm… we think so, we weren't sure," Taylor answered uncertainly.

"We think he is one of the Knights…" Gabriella elaborated somewhat hesitantly.

"She used to date one of them," Chad said, somewhat venomously. "About yay high, slight Mohawk, earring at the top of his ear…"

"Uh huh," Taylor said glumly.

"Do we have to tell Zeke?" Gabriella asked timidly.

"Yes!" both Troy and Chad emphatically answered simultaneously.

The girls looked somewhat deflated.

"Umm… I don't suppose you would like to tell him for us?" Gabriella suggested, looking into Troy's eyes imploringly.

He sympathised with her situation, however Troy shook his head ardently. "No, I don't think that's the right thing to do."

"Since when do either of you back down from telling someone the truth about something?" Chad asked, raising his eyebrows at Taylor.

"But this is… it's Zeke! He's gonna be crushed," Taylor said. "And you guys would know how to tell him better than we would."

"Please?" Gabriella asked, once again looking at Troy pleadingly.

"I think he will take it better if he hears it from the actual source," Troy said tactfully.

"Let's get it over with and call him," Taylor urged Gabriella.

"Not on the phone! That's just cruel!"

"Well Monica has a _family thing_ tonight so I'm pretty sure Zeke's just at home," Chad said, the words 'family thing' coming out in disgust.

"Do you want me to call him and ask if we can come over?" Troy asked, taking pity on the girls.

* * *

The arrangements were made. Troy had called casually asking if they could come by briefly. He made up an excuse about wanting to look at one of Zeke's PlayStation games. Zeke's response had been that he was in a baking frenzy but that Troy was welcome to come by. And so twenty minutes later, the four of them piled from Chad's car and headed up the drive way.

"I feel sick," Gabriella whispered, clutching her stomach.

Troy rubbed her back consolingly. "It'll be okay. You know we have to do this."

Chad reached out and rang the doorbell. Zeke answered the door, he was wearing an apron and clutching onto a mixing bowl. He looked slightly taken aback seeing all four of them on his door step.

"I thought it was just Bolton. Not that you're all not welcome."

"Yeah, can't get a minute to myself," Troy said with a forced laugh. "I come with groupies."

"It's all good. The more of you the better, you can test my new recipe. I just pulled the first batch out the oven," Zeke said enthusiastically. "Make sure they're not totally hideous before I give them to Monica."

Somehow, Zeke missed the simultaneous group wince at that remark. Wordlessly, they followed him into the kitchen, where he grabbed a plate of warm, freshly baked cookies, setting it down in front of them. Chad was the only one to pick up a cookie.

In the car ride over, Taylor and Gabriella had bickered over who was going to do the talking. Gabriella's argument was that Taylor should tell him because she'd known Zeke for longer and would be better at articulating the situation concisely. Taylor had rebutted the point and suggested that rather Gabriella would be able to deliver the news in a softer, more sensitive and emphatic way. Eventually, they settled upon flipping a coin to decide.

"Umm Zeke?" Gabriella's timid voice said, as she stepped forward to speak. "Taylor and I were at the mall today and we went into Fanzz…"

"Oh, did you see Monica? She was working today," Zeke said enthusiastically. He picked up a knife and proceeded to slice a peeled and cored apple for an apple dessert he was making. Chad coughed and jerked his head at the knife.

Gabriella bit her lip, and closed her eyes for a moment. There was only one factor pulling her through. If, God forbid, Troy lost his mind and decided to cheat on her – she would want to know about it. She kept telling herself that.

"We did see her."

There was something within Gabriella's tone which made Zeke thwart his slicing. She reached out, her hand coming to rest on his, and then took the knife from his hand and placed it onto the bench.

"Zeke, we saw Monica kissing another guy," Gabriella said gently. "And I don't mean kissing like you kiss a relative. It was… real kissing. And… they looked like they knew each other pretty well."

Zeke was starting at Gabriella blankly, almost in disbelief.

"Uh… did you… did you know him?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.

Taylor took a step forward also, to answer the question. "We umm…. We think we recognised him. But we're not totally sure."

"Who?"

"Um… apparently… she used to go out with him. One of the Knights," Taylor said.

"Sammy Warren," Zeke said softly.

Gabriella swallowed, once again taking Zeke's hand in hers. "I… I hope we did the right thing telling you."

"Yes. You did," Zeke assured her, and squeezed her hand gently before dropping it.

He turned around, and proceeded to knead his fresh batch of dough in the bowl rather violently.

"Dude, do you uh… do you wanna hang with us? We could grab some food or… uh… stay here and hang… or go play some ball or…." Chad rambled.

"I'm good," Zeke said, his voice monotone and flat.

"You sure?" Chad persisted.

"I said I'm good," he reiterated, more firmly.

Troy cleared his throat. "You can call if you wanna talk or… uh… whatever. You know that, right?"

Zeke nodded. "Yeah man. Thanks. Uh… don't mean to sound rude, but I have a lot of stuff to get done so uh…"

"We'll go," Taylor said quietly.

They all turned around, heading towards the door. Gabriella turned back around.

"I'm sorry Zeke."

* * *

Kelsi had always been entirely comfortable in being herself. Sure, a part of being herself meant that she was a bit of a klutz and had a tendency to get over excited about anything she was passionate about. But she never was one to question whether she should try to change anything about herself. Hence purchasing the new beret despite Gabriella's resistance to the idea. Hence insisting that a dress was simply not appropriate.

She did somewhat cave – pulling out the make up bag which was so infrequently delved into; and even retrieving her hair straightener and leaving her hair out beneath the cute beret. Kelsi's final appearance had received Gabriella's approval. At her friends request, she'd sent picture message of herself through, receiving the response from Gabriella that she looked 'fabulous' and a message from Troy minutes later that he saw the photo and she looked hot. Kelsi would be lying if this hadn't been a squeal worthy factor. Who was she to deny that it was a good feeling being told by the captain of the basketball team that she looked hot?

However it wasn't the captain's opinion that she cared about.

The doorbell rang promptly at 6:30. Kelsi gave Jason a mental tick in her mind for punctuality.

"Kelsi, Jason's here!" her brother's voice rang up the stairs.

She picked up her handbag, casting one final glance in the mirror. She felt a little nervous but not on the scale she had anticipated. Taylor and Gabriella had spent the last four days trading stories about feeling so terrified before their first dates with Chad and Troy. Kelsi felt perfectly calm. The truth was that she'd spent a bit of one on one time with Jason lately, and didn't particularly anticipate anything to be particularly different. She bound down the stairs, to find Jason waiting in the front hallway, looking at photos on the mantelpiece.

"Is this you?" he exclaimed, holding up a baby photo.

Kelsi giggled. "Yes. Terrible, isn't it?"

"You look miserable."

"Apparently I was a crier, and that was the calmest photo they had."

"Hey, you got a new hat. It's cute," Jason complimented.

"Thank you," Kelsi said.

"Well, we should get going," Jason said, heading towards the door.

Kelsi called good bye to her parents and followed him out towards his mother's car that he had borrowed.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously.

"Nowhere too fancy, the fancy restaurant thing isn't my thing."

"Neither is it mine."

"Do you know that Italian eatery near the Eastside Mall?"

"Oh, I really like that place, I went there with my family last month."

"Thought you would, I knew you liked pasta."

"Doesn't everyone like pasta?"

"Zeke doesn't."

"WHAT?!" Kelsi exclaimed. "No way."

"Yes way. The guy is a freak. He calls himself a food lover and he doesn't like pasta. Something about the texture between his teeth."

* * *

Taylor and Chad; and Gabriella and Troy had gone their separate ways after the reveal at Zeke's. Gabriella and Troy had gone to her house – abiding by the bedroom door open as they lounged on her bed watching a movie. The mood was understandably sullen. Gabriella was clutching to Troy, snuggling into him, diverting her eyes from the screen each time an explosion or gunfight was imminent. It was a testament to her mood that she hadn't even tried to argue when he had suggested an action film.

As the end credits began to roll, Gabriella hardly even noticed, her thoughts so far away.

"Gabriella?" Troy enquired, his hand tipping on her chin. "Don't tell me you were so far off in la la land that you missed the big romantic moment at the end."

"Huh?" Gabriella said. "Oh, is it over?"

"Yeah. They made out. He proposed."

"Oh. That's nice," she said, somewhat distractedly.

"Talk to me," Troy said.

His tone was soft but she sensed his determination.

"I promise I would never, ever, ever cheat on you," Gabriella said softly.

Troy looked at her sharply, not able to hide his shock. "I know that. And straight back at you."

"If you were ever not happy with me, with us… you would tell me, wouldn't you?"

This comment was even more worrying for Troy than the initial one.

"Have I done something to make you think I'm not happy?" Troy asked, slightly panicked. "Because if I was any more happier I think there would be like puppies and rainbows shooting out of my ass."

"That was… very creative imagery. And no no, I'm not saying that. I just… It makes me think… that she must not have been happy with Zeke, or she wouldn't have done it. But… they seemed so happy. I thought she was totally into him."

"I guess she had us all fooled. Especially him."

* * *

Jason and Kelsi were seated across from one another at the family style Italian restaurant Jason had chosen for the night. Kelsi had been in a fit of giggles almost since the moment he'd picked her up.

"And then he spewed up, right there, in front of her parents," Jason finished the story.

"That's disgusting!" Kelsi gasped, nevertheless laughing.

"Chad learnt his lesson after that. Big parties the night before a lunch with the parents – not a great idea."

"Perhaps it was an omen that it wasn't going to work with him and Kayla," Kelsi suggested.

"Maybe," Jason agreed.

Kelsi cleared her throat. "So tell me, were the guys all trying to be helpful and give you advice about tonight?"

"No. They were making me nervous though," Jason admitted. "They started telling stories about their first dates – including Troy with that complicated tour of the town thing he did for Gabriella. I was like, and here I was thinking it'll be nice to just sit and talk and hang with you and just you and not everyone else."

Kelsi ducked her head, smiling. "No, I agree. I don't need all that complicated stuff."

"Yeah but, of course you're gonna say that. You're not gonna tell me to my face, gee Jase, you coulda done something way cooler."

Kelsi giggled. "No I wouldn't but… I am telling you now that I couldn't care less what they all do on their dates. This isn't about them. It's about us and what works for us. Isn't it?"

"I think that might be the best date advice I've ever been given."

* * *

Chad and Taylor had remained fairly quiet throughout, listening patiently but mostly 'uh-huh'ing, and saying 'sure.' had been ranting and raving about what a bitch Monica was, and how dreadful it was that she could do something so terrible to such a lovely guy like Zeke. Meanwhile, had headed to the local pizza parlour to grab some food.

"What do you think about it?" Taylor asked.

Chad was on such auto pilot that he almost opened his mouth to say, _uh huh_ before realising that he might actually need to formulate an actual response.

"I kinda want to know Monica's side," Chad confessed, not being one to hold back from the truth.

Unless the truth was something he wanted to hide from people.

"What do you mean, you wanna know her side? She was kissing her ex. There is no other side."

"Come on Tay, you're a smart person. These situations have context," he pointed out.

"The context doesn't justify it."

"Maybe not but… Monica is my friend as well. I mean, Zeke's obviously one of my best buddies but I care about her also. I feel like I should at least know her side of the story before just writing her off into the Monica is totally evil category. Sometimes people just make mistakes, they fuck up. That's life. Just because you fuck up it doesn't necessarily mean that you're a completely evil person."

Taylor pursed her lips. "Good thing Ryan isn't here."

"What does Evans have to do with this?" Chad asked, suddenly feeling a panic. Had Ryan said something?

"He'd probably use this as some classic example to prove that Taylor is indeed closed minded."

"I thought you guys talked about this and moved on," Chad said, rolling his eyes as he picked up a slice of pizza.

"Yeah. But that doesn't mean that I stopped thinking about it. Just because an issue isn't being addressed doesn't mean it isn't still there."

Chad wasn't oblivious to the multiple connotations of the remark she had made. However, he simply chose to ignore it, and changed the subject.

"There's nothing really we can do. I'll give him a call later, see if he feels like talking. Knowing Zeke, he will be stewing about it."

* * *

"I really don't mind," Kelsi insisted.

Kelsi and Jason had been standing in the foyer of the cinema discussing what film to see for ten minutes. One would tentatively suggest a film, the other would agree, then the person who suggested it would say, but what do YOU want to see. And it was a vicious cycle of politeness.

"Why don't I close my eyes and point to something," Jason said, motioning to the session times print out she held in her hand.

"Go on," Kelsi encouraged.

Jason followed his plan, closed his eyes, waving his hand around in the air madly – eliciting a giggle from Kelsi – and then plonked it down.

"Tropic Thunder," Jason declared.

"Sounds good," Kelsi said.

"Are you sure?" Jason asked.

"Yes! Now let's get tickets. It starts in ten minutes."

Gabriella had insisted upon putting in another DVD even though Troy knew very well that she wasn't particularly in a concentrating type of mood. However, he obliged her wish for a while. A half hour into the movie, Troy reached out and pressed pause on the remote.

"Tell me that guys name," Troy asked her, pointing to the main character.

She winced. "Umm… his name… is… Cameron?"

"Close but no cigar. Gabriella, if you're not in the mood to be doing this, we don't have to be."

"I'm sorry. I'm being a downer."

"I'm not asking you to sing and dance a merry song. It's a sucky night, that's a given. Let's just try to make the most of it, yeah?"

"I feel guilty," Gabriella confessed.

"Why? You know we had to tell him," Troy consoled her.

"No, I do know that. That's not what I meant. I feel guilty because… because you and I are happy."

"Hey, don't be silly. You and I, we've worked for this. It hasn't just appeared out of nowhere. Besides, you've been through enough in your life. You deserve to be happy," Troy murmured, cupping her chin.

She allowed his lips to meet hers softly, and parted her lips to deepen the kiss. Troy pulled away abruptly.

"Gabriella, your mom," he reminded softly, gesturing to the open door.

"Turn the DVD back on. We can make out. She probably won't come up here anyway. And as long as you keep your hands to yourself…"

"I don't know if I'm capable of doing that."

"Try. For me?"

He sighed, the beseeching look in her eye enough to convince Troy that he should go along with any suggestion.

"Fine. But I'll probably need a cold shower when I get home."

Jason pulled up outside Kelsi's house, and turned to her smiling brightly. He turned off the engine, but didn't even take off his seatbelt.

"Well this was fun," he said brightly.

Queue the response of, _we should do it again sometime._

Kelsi smiled. "Yeah, yeah it was."

Awkward silence.

Jason cleared his throat. "Well your curfew is in a few minutes so…"

"So I should go inside," Kelsi finished. She smiled at him brightly. "Tonight was really fun, I wasn't just… agreeing for the sake of agreeing."

"That's um… that's good. Good to hear."

Kelsi opened the passenger door of the car, Jason quickly unbuckling his belt and opening his door to dash after her, walking her to the front door.

"Night Jase," Kelsi said.

Jason took a step forward, taking in a breath. Kelsi licked her lower lip subconsciously in slight anticipation of the moment she new was coming. Her eyes closed as Jason leaned down.

Problem was that Jason also had closed his eyes, and as Kelsi's head tilted slightly to the right, Jason's head tilted slightly to the left. The result – a collision of noses.

"Ow!" Kelsi squealed.

"Oh shit! Did… did I hurt you?" Jason exclaimed.

"No no I'm fine…. I tend to just say ow out of reflex."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," she said, assuring him.

"Uh… should we try that again?" Jason asked cautiously.

"Yes!" Kelsi said, perhaps a little quicker than socially acceptable.

Jason nodded. "Okay…"

And as the gap between them became smaller and smaller, the front door creaked open.

"You're late!" a voice said accusingly.

Kelsi gritted her teeth, turning to stare at her younger brother. Hereforth to be referred to as 'the moment killer.'

"I am not! Go away!" she hissed.

"Ew, were you going to kiss?!"

"I said, go away!" Kelsi repeated, her voice rising in octaves.

Jason was now staring at his shuffling feet.

"Err…. I'd better go in," she said, a little awkwardly.

He nodded. "Right."

Kelsi leaned over, kissing him quickly on the cheek as she gave him a quick hug. "I really did have a great time. Good night."

"Good night," Jason's voice echoed

* * *

Zeke sat in his room, alone.

One minute he'd been happy, contemplating just how well life had been going.

Then all it took was a few words to bring that world crashing down.

Somehow, things had been easier when he'd been crushing on Sharpay from afar. Her words of rejection might have been repetitive, but they were expected. They were familiar. The familiar could be comforting.

He glanced over at the framed photo of himself and Monica from Homecoming, staring at it with a feeling of venom. He picked it up, trailing his finger over her face.

A moment later, the glass shattered against his wardrobe door.


	30. Chapter 30

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I would like to express multitudes of appreciation and thanks to everyone who has been reviewing and supporting me. I always love hearing your thoughts about my work, not only as a form of ego stroking but also because it gives me a sense of whether I am achieving my goals as a writer. After reading over the comments made in relation to last chapter, a part of me wants to sit and write a spiel (I did write one and then deleted it) to address a whole bunch of things. I'm going to cut the lesson short. My ultimate goal as an author is to depict a realistic scenario. Reality – at 17, all relationships do not work out. Reality – sometimes, good people make bad decisions which often have a whole lot more context than first meets the eye. If all you want to read is a story filled with fluff and happiness where everything works out nicely then I suggest in the politest way possible that perhaps you desist from reading Someday because my goal is to reflect a realistic scenario, not an idealistic puppy love Utopia. This isn't directed at anyone in particular, rather just something that I felt I wanted to clarify after taking on board the general vibe that I got.

Also, I hate it when people do this, but if you're thinking 'ugh FINALLY an update' (God forbid that a fan fic author have a life and not update like a machine) then this update was pushed back a little because, if you haven't already seen it, I kinda put my heart and soul into writing this one shot for the ZA Angels Write-Off. It's called 'The Redefinition of Pain' and it's a tad depressing, so I won't be offended if you don't check it out but I also would so totally love it if you did :-) Thanks to all who have already read it... kisses and hugs to you all. :-)

* * *

**Chapter 30**

Any other day, arriving at school to see two trailer style double portable classrooms set up at the back of the oval would have been enough to pique interest and spark speculative conversation. However Monday morning, there were other topics at the forefront of Wildcat conversations.

"WHAT?!" Ryan exclaimed, staring at Gabriella in utter disbelief. His voice was filled with poison.

"You heard her," Taylor said, her voice filled with equal disdain.

"That skanky cheating little whore. And here I thought the most exciting thing that happened all weekend was that I actually did some homework," Ryan remarked. "Tell me we at least heard about Jason and Kelsi's date?"

"I texted her yesterday, she just said it was fine and that she was busy and would tell me about it today," Gabriella said.

"At practice yesterday Jason was pretty short about it," Troy added. "Just said it was good and changed the subject."

"Do you think it was bad?" Taylor asked, genuinely worried.

Ryan could only deal with one set of potentially bad news at a time. "I still can't believe that skank would really…" Ryan was livid.

"You seem to be taking this very personally," Gabriella remarked. "I mean… I'm upset obviously but you seem really upset."

"I just… I like everyone to be happy," Ryan said. "How was Zeke at training?"

"He 'has the flu'," Troy said, making air quotes and rolling his eyes. "Couldn't come."

Chad's phone went off with a text message received tone. "Looks like he still 'has the flu.'"

"He can't keep missing practice," Troy said. "I might sound heartless but I really do get what he's going through."

"I think Zeke cared about Monica a bit more than you cared about Alyson," Chad said, rolling his eyes.

"You went out with Alyson?" Ryan asked. "Wow."

"How do you know Alyson?" Troy asked.

"She's in my dance classes outside of school."

"That's right. She quit the cheer squad to take extra classes," Chad mused.

"My point is that I went to training the same day I found out she'd cheated on me…"

"Oh please, if you'd missed training your dad would have killed you," Chad said.

Troy glanced sideways, noting Gabriella's sudden silence and her uncomfortable shifting gaze around the courtyard.

"Can we stop talking about her?" Troy said.

"You brought her up," Taylor pointed out.

"I asked him if he's coming to training and he said that after a nap he might feel well enough to come in," Chad said, still typing on his phone.

"How gallant," Troy said sarcastically.

"Come on Bolton, this is Zeke. You know he takes this stuff differently."

"Whatever," Troy mumbled.

"Maybe we should talk to Paula and get the cheerleaders to stay the hell away from the gym," Chad suggested.

"What's going on guys?" a voice called out.

They looked up, seeing Jason as he approached the group who was gathering near the fountain at the front of East High.

"Dude!" Troy said, clapping his friend on the back.

Chad glanced around – as though quadruple checking that Kelsi hadn't arrived yet – before demanding, "Well?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "I told you yesterday, it was good. Have you heard from Zeke? How is he? His phone was turned off when I called."

They'd filled Jason in on the situation with Zeke and Monica at practice the morning before.

"Ditching school," Troy responded, his annoyance evident.

"Don't blame him."

"You!" a shrill screech was heard from behind them.

Monica came stalking up to the group, her fury evident. Paula trailed behind her, glancing desperately between them all, aware of the impending fireworks.

"All right, which one of you fuckheads was spying on me on the weekend?" Monica practically screeched, looking directly at each of the guys. She took a step toward Chad, pushing him slightly. "This would so be up your alley Danforth, to rat me out."

Chad was bewildered, holding his hands up defensively. "Woman, you brought this whole situation on yourself so don't go looking for someone to blame."

"So it was you," she hissed, glaring at him.

"For your information it wasn't so you go and get your facts straight."

"Well I know that someone couldn't just keep their fucking nose out of my business!" Monica snapped.

Gabriella stepped forward. "It was me," she said firmly.

Taylor was staring at her friend, in awe that she was actually admitting to it. Monica was beyond angry, she was furious.

"Gabriella?" Troy said tentatively, sensing that maybe now wasn't the time for his girlfriend to be demonstrating her courage.

"You?" Monica questioned, almost spitting it.

"Yes, it was me." Despite the taller girls' glare, Gabriella could feel a flash of confidence surge through her. "And you know what, when you are standing in a public area where anyone can walk by and you're making out with someone who isn't your boyfriend – you make it public business."

Monica took another step closer to Gabriella, the girls standing just inches apart. Monica was glaring down at Gabriella, standing three inches taller.

"All right back off," Troy said, grasping Monica by the upper arm.

"Get your fucking hand off of me, Bolton!" she snapped, turning her glare to him.

"You back the fuck away from my girlfriend!" Troy returned.

Monica stepped away, and yanked her arm free of Troy's grasp. Her stony expression cracked, tears filling in her eyes.

"Why couldn't you have come to me about it," she whispered. "It's not fair that he had to hear it from you. He at least deserved to hear it from me."

"I was the one who wanted to tell him," Taylor said, stepping forward to stand beside Gabriella.

Gabriella's eyes flickered up at her friend, grateful she was standing up for her.

"Trust you to get involved in someone else's business," Monica muttered.

"Ex-_cuse_ me?!" Taylor repeated. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Taylor McKessie, always with an opinion about everything that doesn't have anything to do with her."

"All right, let's go Monica," Paula said, gently touching her friend on the arm. "I think that's enough."

"Yeah, and trust you to take their side!"

"I'm not on anyone's side!" Paula said, exasperated.

"You should be. Our side," Troy muttered.

Paula shot Troy a filthy look, hearing his remark, before turning back to Monica. "Come with me."

"But…" Monica protested.

"Now!"

Paula led Monica away. Even as they were out of ear shot, it was evident that Monica was still angry, with wild arm gestures and facial expressions.

Gabriella was shaking slightly from the encounter. Troy tipped her chin up to look at him.

"Are you okay?" Troy murmured.

She nodded. "I'm fine."

"Generally when people say that they are fine they aren't fine," Troy observed.

"Well I really am fine," she insisted.

"I think she's right," Chad said.

All eyes were on Chad, raised eyebrows. "Uh, what?" Troy said.

"Monica is right. Maybe we should have talked to her. I mean fair enough that you girls didn't want to interfere but… me and Troy maybe should have gone and talked to her or… something," Chad said.

"Are you kidding? We're not relationship counsellors. Zeke's our buddy, his girlfriend is a whore. If anything we didn't get there fast enough to tell him," Troy said.

"Troy is right. Monica made the bed, now she has to lie in it," Taylor said practically. "Now come on, we have to go to homeroom."

* * *

Kelsi scurried into homeroom just a minute shy of the bell.

"Hey!" Jason said brightly, trying to overcompensate of his awkwardness.

"Hi there," Kelsi said shyly, trying to tone down the sheer joy she felt merely laying eyes upon him.

Kelsi noted Zeke's absence – she'd heard about the dramas of the weekend from Martha, who had heard it from Taylor. A small part of Kelsi couldn't help but derive pleasure from Zeke's absence. It meant that she was the only one sitting directly beside Jason, which meant he was more likely to be paying attention to her. However another part of Kelsi was hyper aware that Zeke's absence meant that for the next thirty seconds, she was going to have to keep her cool and have a conversation with Jason without stuttering like a fool.

"How was the rest of your weekend?" Jason asked, settling upon a fairly safe, open subject as his opener.

"Not bad. How about yours?"

"Yeah, we had training which went okay. Zeke wasn't there though," Jason added quietly, since Monica was sitting at her

Kelsi nodded. "I heard."

Meanwhile just a few desks over, Taylor turned around to nudge Gabriella. "At least something is going right," she said softly, subtly gesturing to Jason and Kelsi.

The bell rang, and the ever punctual Ms. Darbus proceeded efficiently with the morning announcements. The big announcement of the morning was that relating to the portable classrooms which the students had observed. Each of the two buildings had facilities for two classes, meaning that four additional classrooms were provided. These four classrooms were specifically designated to replace those which had taken over the gymnasium.

"So you mean I won't have an excuse for not paying attention during trig any more?" Troy remarked to Gabriella once they were let out of homeroom and headed toward Physics.

She looked at him. "Yes, that's the most important implication of the new classrooms. Not that you guys have your gym back for training or anything."

Troy smirked. "Well, we've played well so far even without the gym. And I happen to enjoy my trig classes peeking at you through the half assed dividers."

"And whatever might you be thinking about as you're peeking through those dividers, Mr Bolton?" Gabriella teased.

Troy paused, in the corridor dropping her hand that he was holding to instead place both of his hands on her hips and draw her toward him.

"Maybe… maybe that we need to organise hours of private time before you abandon me for a whole weekend to go to Boston?" Troy suggested coyly. He glanced around, and then leaned forward to add in a whisper by her ear, "Maybe I can even taste you again."

Martha and Taylor rounded the corner, having bypassed to their lockers before heading to the same physics class that Troy and Gabriella were heading to.

"Come on, control yourselves," Taylor scolded, her tone light.

Troy and Gabriella pulled apart, smiling bashfully.

"Sorry, can't help myself," Troy said, somewhat huskily. "And I swear, Chad must be teaching you the art of interrupting us."

"Maybe it's just so easy to interrupt you because there is so frequently something to interrupt?" Martha suggested.

Taylor laughed and exchanged a high five with her friend.

"Come on, we don't want to be late," Gabriella said.

She was desperate to urge the group down the corridor in the direction of class. And to quash the conversation. Because it was putting mental imagery into her head which was bound to prevent any sort of attention being paid in a single class for the remainder of the day.

* * *

Meanwhile Jason and Kelsi had headed in the other direction together, where they had first period classes up the hall from one another.

"So… Saturday was fun," Kelsi said. A sudden whim of bravery hit her, knowing that they had to broach the topic of the date sooner or later; and sooner rather than later when its awkwardness would only duplicate.

"Definitely!" Jason said enthusiastically, filled with such gratitude to Kelsi for bringing up the topic. He too was hit by a whim of bravery, in that split second telling himself that if Kelsi brought it up then obviously she wasn't planning to pretend like they'd never gone out and move on. Jason cleared his throat and added hopefully, "Maybe… um… you know if you wanted to… we could do it again? Go out again I mean. Like, this weekend?"

"That would be nice," Kelsi said, eyes sparkling a little. "Umm… I think I'm going to be busy Saturday night, I have this family thing. But… we'll definitely arrange something. Because I had a lot of fun."

"Awesome. Sounds good."

"Anyway, this is me," Kelsi said, motioning to the classroom they were approaching. "See you… at lunch?"

"Okay. Cool."

Jason smiled, and watched as Kelsi walked into her room. She glanced back at him to throw him a shy smile before disappearing from view. A silly grin upon his face, Jason took a step forward to continue walking to his own class. He glanced backwards at her room, in a feigned hope that he might be able to catch a final glimpse of her. He slammed straight into someone who was also walking along not paying attention.

"Oh fuck! Sorry!" Jason exclaimed.

* * *

"You guys have to promise me you're going to take photos of like, every single building," Martha gushed.

"Oh I will, believe me," Taylor said, a sparkle in her eye. "I've been obsessed with Harvard for so long and I can't believe I'm finally going to BE THERE."

Spilling over every spare inch of the cafeteria table was a series of Boston and Cambridge paraphernalia. Taylor and Gabriella had brochures and internet print outs about various universities in the vicinity of their upcoming weekend adventure; along with public transportation timetables. They were attempting to put together some sort of rough itinerary for their weekend away.

"It's just a university. You know, big buildings, lots of books and… and… computers," Chad said, amused at the excitement. "You sound like it's turning you on or something."

"Oh please, you get all excited in the video game store," Taylor remarked, rolling her eyes. "And don't even get me started on that twinkle in your eye when you're watching the Lakers play. There is something really disconcerting about the way that you're grunting and groaning Kobe Bryant's name. Gabriella, does Troy do that?"

"Yes, except he has this fixation with Jordan Farmar at the moment."

"Gabriella!" Troy exclaimed.

"Taylor. Are you trying to ruin basketball for me? Are you trying to ruin one of my life's passions?" Chad asked incredulously.

"Well next time that you contemplate suggesting that a building turns me on, think about the consequences before you speak," Taylor retorted.

"On the bright side, without the obligation to hang out with you, me and the boys are going to spend hours in front of the television at Bolton's with the PS2," Chad teased.

"You are?" Troy asked, raising an eyebrow. "When was I gonna be told about this?"

"Pending your busy schedule, of course," Chad said. "It'll be good, don't you think, a guys weekend? Especially… you know… for Zeke?"

Troy nodded. "You're right. It'll be cool. I've got work Saturday morning and rehearsal with Ryan and Kelsi on Sunday afternoon. And I have to do some homework at some point. But other than that, free as a bird."

"Hey guys," Paula called out brightly as she approached the group, clutching onto an apple and a carton of milk.

"Surprised to see you talking to us," Troy remarked.

She stared at him. "What?"

"You know, given that Monica is going around threatening Gabriella and…"

"Oh my God! Troy, grow up," Paula said, rolling her eyes.

"But seriously, she might get narky with you for talking to us. We're like the enemy, aren't we?"

"I am my own person, I will talk to whomever I feel like talking to," Paula said defensively. "You're narky at me because I didn't jump all over her this morning, I get that. Don't pretend that this is about anything else."

"Why are you talking to her? Don't you care about Zeke?"

"Troy, the world isn't black and white. Yes I care about Zeke, but Monica is not only in my team but she's also my friend, one of my closest friends. I'm not defending what she did but at least I've listened to her side of the story. And you know what, when my friends fuck up, I'm still there for them. Good to know that the day when I will inevitably screw up, that you won't have my back."

"Okay maybe the two of you should chill," Chad said, intervening.

"No it's okay. I'll just go. I came over just for a chat but I get that Troy has his little complex about this stuff so it's all good," Paula said.

"My little _complex_? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Troy demanded.

Paula bit her lip, glancing at Gabriella. "Never mind."

"If you are referring to my half assed relationship with Alyson and the surrounding events then I think you're going a bit overboard using the term _complex_."

"I'm not talking about this here. I just… look. I'm going now. I'll talk to you later when you're a bit calmer."

"Paula," Troy said, clearly exasperated. "Wait!"

"Do the two of you have… have some kind of unresolved…. Issue?" Gabriella asked.

Troy hesitated. That split second of hesitation was enough away.

"No. No it's fine," he insisted. "Look, I'm gonna go to the library before our free period rehearsal. I'll see you guys there, next door to our drama room, right?"

"Right," Ryan said tentatively.

"Troy?" Gabriella said, somewhat questioningly.

Troy looked at her, smiling reassuringly. "I'm fine. I really do need to go to the library."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No it's okay, you stay here. You guys are working on your weekend plans. See you soon." He leaned over, pressing his lips to hers for a quick peck, before murmuring near her ear, "I love you."

"Love you too," Gabriella replied.

"See y'all later," he called, walking away.

Gabriella sighed, turning back to the brochures for a moment. She then looked up.

"Chad?"

Chad's mouth was currently filled with sandwich, but it didn't prevent him from saying, "What?"

Gabriella wrinkled up her nose slightly, and momentarily questioned Taylor's attraction to him. "Can you tell me what happened with Troy and Alyson?"

Chad swallowed the bite of sandwich. "I thought Bolton told you all about this ages ago?"

"He told me a very rough skeleton of what happened and I can't help but think that there's something more going on."

"You think too much," Jason observed.

"Then what the hell was that all about? You can't tell me it was only about Zeke and Monica," Gabriella said.

"When Troy went out with Ally – so it was at the end of sophomore year – she was still on the cheer squad and she was friends with Paula. It really was a very similar situation except we were all younger and Troy and Ally weren't that serious at all. Paula is one of those people who really does have your back no matter what and she supported Ally even when everyone else was saying shit about her. Because cheating on Troy is supposedly a greater crime than murder. I guess it was just all about that," Chad explained.

Gabriella pursed her lips. "Maybe."

* * *

Free period on Monday had been unofficially designated as a permanent rehearsal period for Ryan, Gabriella, Sharpay and Troy. It fell right before Monday drama class, in which Ms. Darbus had set down the general rule that the first half of the class she would allow the foursome to continue with rehearsal next door. And Ms. Darbus also had that free period available herself.

The scene had been run through about a half a dozen times. There was a peculiar mood in the group. The dynamic itself was unusual. There had been a few scenes in Twinkle Towne with the four of them on stage at once; but all rehearsals had taken place in the auditorium on stage; with a sea of people around. Whether they be working on a costume, fiddling with the lighting, banging on a drum. Now, it was Sharpay, Gabriella, Ryan and Troy in one room at one time. Ms Darbus was coming in and out as they rehearsed, but essentially, it was the four of them.

The approach was business like, which seemed to work well with the general mood in the group. Troy was still reeling from the sting of Paula's comments to him at lunch. Ryan was stressed about some assignments. Gabriella was worried about Troy. And Sharpay was… Sharpay.

There were just minutes until the warning bell for students to move to their final period classrooms was due to ring. Ms Darbus excused herself from the rehearsal room.

"You'll have another half hour to work on this. Run the scene once more, and then come retrieve Miss Nielson as class is beginning to run through the song with you."

* * *

Students were gathering in the drama classroom, awaiting the beginning of class. Jason and Martha were laughing at a joke Chad had told – Taylor was sitting rolling her eyes.

"Jase?" Monica asked tentatively, approaching him.

Jason looked up at her warily. "What do you want?"

"Umm… is Zeke coming to training after school today?"

"Don't know," Jason said shortly.

"If he does, can you tell him… can you tell him that I'm sorry? And that I wanna talk to him?"

"What do you want?"

Monica turned around. "Troy, I wasn't talking to you."

"Well I'm here now."

"I thought you guys were rehearsing next door?" Chad asked.

"We are. I came to get Kelsi."

"She went to the bathroom and then was going into your room," Jason told him.

"Oh."

"So you can run along now Troy," Monica said sarcastically.

Troy turned around, glaring at her. He was close to snapping, but somehow held back, merely spitting out a venomous, "Whatever."

* * *

For better or for worse, Zeke did manage to come into school for training that afternoon. It would be an understatement to describe his appearance as being dishevelled. One could easily think that he looked as though he hadn't slept in two days because he barely had slept in two days.

"Hey man," Jason said, somewhat sympathetically.

"Sup," Zeke said, his tone flat.

"How you doing? You uh… feeling better?" Chad asked.

Zeke shrugged. "Whatever. Just uh… didn't want to see the bitch is all."

"Don't blame you," Troy said.

Zeke gave his friend a tight smile, knowing that of all of them, Troy understood where he was coming from best.

"Whatever. Don't want to think about it. That's why I came to training, get my mind off it."

"You coming to school tomorrow?" Jason asked.

Zeke nodded. "I have to. I'm behind in some classes and faking the flu is harder than you'd think. Just… just hope she stays the fuck away from me."

* * *

As the boys were at basketball training, Gabriella was sitting in the waiting room of a doctor's surgery, flicking through an elementary school math text. She glanced at the time on her cell phone. She had a tight schedule. Her appointment was for 4pm. It was now 4:15pm. It was simply too much to ever expect a medical centre to run on time. She was due to arrive at the Henry residence at 5:30, being Mr Davis' next door neighbours. She had called over the weekend and asked if they were still looking for someone to tutor their son. And then she was due back at school at 7, to attend the SAT Information Session.

It was a nice distraction, going through her notes. It was her first time going to a doctor on her own. Gabriella avoided doctors like the plague. She'd spent so many years being around doctor's surgeries and hospitals through the years when her father was ill, that now the sterile smell was enough to bring back memories she preferred to repress. And now there was the factor that she was going for what she considered to be a relatively embarrassing reason.

"Gabriella Montez?" a voice called.

Gabriella looked up at where the Doctor was waiting just in front of one of the offices. She took a breath, smiled calmly and picked up her handbag and strode over. She settled herself and waited expectantly.

"So Gabriella, what brings you here today?" Doctor Fitzpatrick asked with a kind smile.

Gabriella glanced up at the older woman for a moment before looking back down at her hands. She was toying with the zipper on her handbag.

"Umm… just a general check up. And uh… I wanted to… enquire about getting a prescription for… umm… for… for a contraceptive pill," Gabriella managed to say, her voice dropping to a whisper.

The doctor smiled kindly. "Let's start with the check up, shall we?"

* * *

The Wildcat gang had staked out a spot in the gymnasium for the information night. The members of the basketball team had gone out to grab food after training and then come back to school. Kelsi, Ryan and Martha had been at a rehearsal for the musical chorus. Taylor had been at a debate team meeting which ran up until just prior to the session. Leaving one integral member of their group who was yet to arrive.

Troy's eyes were peeled on the door. "Where is she?" he asked impatiently.

"Chill man. She'll be here," Chad said, rolling his eyes.

"I can't believe I didn't even ask how she was getting here. She just said she was fine for a lift and she would see me here."

"She's probably out making out with the captain of the Knights," Zeke said despondently.

"Wha… huh?" Troy stammered.

"Oh please. I know you're upset Zeke but that's ridiculous. She was tutoring," Taylor snapped.

Troy knew that Zeke was being ridiculous but now that the suggestion had been said out loud, Troy's brain couldn't help but go there. He sat wringing his hands until a few minutes later, when Gabriella appeared in the doorway to the gym with Mr. Davis.

"Yo Gabriella!" Jason called out.

She flashed them a smile and waved; then turned back to say something to her teacher before heading in their direction.

"Hey," Troy said, patting the spot beside him and leaning over to kiss her softly. "You're late."

"It starts in five minutes so therefore I am perfectly on time," she said, amused. "I was tutoring until 6:30, you knew that."

"How did you get here?" Troy asked.

"Mr. Davis gave me a lift."

"That's weird," Jason said.

"He lives next door to James – the kid I am tutoring. Mr. Davis got me the job. I told him that I'd set it up today and then he asked if I wanted a lift back to school since he was coming back for the session, save my mom coming to pick me up."

"How was… umm… your appointment," Troy asked quietly.

She nodded. "Fine. I umm… got a prescription."

"Oh. Okay then. Cool."

Troy was trying to sound aloof but he couldn't help but feel the twang of aroused excitement knowing that they were that one step closer to the final culmination of… events.

* * *

The information session ran without a hitch. Taylor, Gabriella and Martha were on the edges of their seats, paying attention to every last bit of information. The guys were slightly distracted. Chad had brought the earphones for his cell phone and they were listening to the radio, passing the earphones around. Troy was half way between wanting to listen, and knowing that Gabriella could just fill him in later. To Zeke's relief, Monica did not make an appearance.

However the inevitable could only be put off for so long.

* * *

Zeke arrived at school on Tuesday morning, plastering a bright smile onto his face.

"Zeke buddy, how you doing?" Troy called out brightly.

"Fine," Zeke managed to say.

No one said anything directly but there was that look in people's eyes as they greeted him.

"Morning Zeke," Gabriella said, giving him a hug which lasted a moment longer than usual.

He kept his head high.

"So, another day at homeroom, huh?" Zeke remarked.

"We could ditch?" Chad suggested.

Zeke rolled his eyes. "I'm here, aren't I? Just want to get it over with."

They strode into the building as a group, breaking off to head to lockers and bathrooms. Zeke walked into homeroom, flanked by Troy, Jason and Chad.

And there she was.

Zeke walked straight past, not even looking at her.

"Zeke?" Monica ventured quietly.

He dropped a book on his desk, sat down, and immediately turned his chair around to talk with Martha and Ryan, who were already seated.

"Zeke you can't just ignore me," Monica said.

Zeke cleared his throat, turning around. "I get that you want to talk to me so you can make yourself feel better. But right now just seeing you kinda makes me want to go hurl. So just turn around and I'm going to pretend you're not here. Okay?"

Monica nodded. "I understand."

* * *

The thing about school is that even within painful circumstances, it provides a monotony to throw yourself into. Go to class, do the work, keep your head down. Work through the pain. Zeke considered hanging around in the hospitality wing during lunch period, but his rumbling stomach led him toward the cafeteria. As long as he remained surrounded by his friends, surely some other drama could take over and distract.

Ryan came into the cafeteria, evidently frustrated.

"Taylor! Do you have your laptop here today?"

Taylor glanced down onto the table in front of her where she had her laptop open.

"Um, yes Ryan, I do," she said, in a teasingly condescending tone.

"Can I please please please please please borrow it for a few minutes? The computer lab is packed and the library is all the way on the other side of school."

"Oh I suppose, since you asked so nicely," Taylor said, giving Gabriella an amused glance.

She slid the laptop over and Ryan began to frantically type away.

"I had to research something before my next class and I completely flaked, I've just been busy with all this other stuff."

"It's okay, I was only surfing on the Harvard site."

"Don't you already have like, the entire thing memorised," Chad teased.

Taylor rolled her eyes sheepishly. "Not the entire thing," she said a little lamely.

"Ryan!" a shrill, demanding voice screeched, as the pink and sequined clad girl beelined up to him.

As a force of habit, Ryan jumped to his feet, almost knocking over Taylor's laptop in the process. "Yes?"

Sharpay stared at Chad and Jason and waved her hands in a move along motion. The guys looked at one another for a moment in bewilderment, before shuffling down. Sharpay sat down, and slammed down her pink binder folder with a pink fluff trim.

"Did you finish the budget for the drama club?" Her tone was demanding, it was a backhanded way of asking, "Where is the budget for the drama club?"

Ryan sat down again, now staring at Sharpay in confusion. "Finish? I haven't started."

"WHAT?!" Sharpay demanded. "Darbus needs it by tomorrow morning!"

"Shar, when we sat down and agreed that you were taking over as sole president of the drama club and that I officially was just a member – I assumed that you were going to take over the responsibilities associated with the presidency. That was kinda the whole purpose of me stepping back."

"But… but… you've always done the budget! What do I know about budgeting?" Sharpay exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air, her metal bracelets jingling wildly as her arms flailed. She took a moment, took a deep breath, and then folded her arms across her chest and stared at Ryan smugly. "You're just going to have to do it tonight."

Exhibit A of Ryan Evans' personal development. Six months earlier, he would have relented. He would have relented even though he knew very well that Sharpay was being utterly ridiculous and that her demands were unreasonable. However now, Ryan put his foot down, and he put it down firmly.

"I'm sorry Shar, but I don't have time tonight. I have sooo much homework, plus I have to work on these next plans for the pep rally and…"

"Can't Gabriella do that?"

Gabriella looked up, she'd been attempting to stay out of the conflict but hearing her name grabbed her attention. Sharpay was staring at her expectantly. Gabriella cleared her throat. "Umm… well… I can help with the pep rally plans if you like, Ryan."

"No," Ryan said firmly. "We delegated everything, this is my responsibility not yours. You've got enough on. Shar, did you really think I was gonna do this?"

Sharpay exhaled. "Okay, okay. I just totally forgot about the budget," she confessed. "I've never cared about it before, and then today Ms Darbus asked how it was going and of course I said it was nearly ready because I couldn't admit to her that I'd forgotten about it and please please please Ryan, please help me! I'll… I'll… I'll use my allowance to buy you a pair of Gucci aviators," Sharpay said, in a sudden whim of bribery.

"I already have a pair of Gucci aviators," Ryan pointed out.

Sharpay bit her lip. "Umm… no you don't because I kinda broke them."

"Sharpay!" Ryan exclaimed, aghast.

"I'll replace them, I swear!"

"You'd better. Look, just get someone else to help you with the budget. It's not that hard. Surely there's someone in the drama class that studies business or is good with numbers."

"Someone from the drama club who is good with numbers and stuff…" Sharpay said, racking her brain. "Well Katie is hopeless, and I couldn't put up with Theodore for longer than a minute without strangling him and…"

Gabriella was watching Sharpay out of the corner of her eye, suddenly very immersed in the book in front of her.

"What about Gabriella?" Jason offered. "She joined the drama club, did you Gabriella?"

Gabriella sent Jason a death stare, and cleared her throat.

"Ryan seriously, I don't mind helping you out with the pep rally plan if you…"

"That's perfect Shar! Gabriella would do a way better job than I ever did!" Ryan exclaimed. "And she's in the drama club and Gabriella, you were saying how much you were enjoying being involved. Wouldn't it look good on those college applications, finance director of the drama club?"

"Finance director? We're talking about a budget here," Gabriella said with a forced, uncomfortable laugh.

Sharpay was looking at Gabriella in pensive thought. "No, no I like this idea. I don't want to have anything to do with the money. My job is to lead people, to direct artistic vision - not work with numbers. You do the budget and look after all of that stuff and then I can focus my energy in the appropriate direction."

"Is anyone actually planning to ask me if I am willing to do this?" Gabriella asked, slightly annoyed.

"Come on, you were willing to do my pep rally plans for me, this is just something even more up your alley," Ryan encouraged.

"Gabriella, I need help with this. And you are the perfect person to do it," Sharpay said. "I would be willing to give you the title of Finance Director, even though Ryan suggested it without my approval."

Gabriella sighed. "I suppose I can…"

"Fabulous! Okay. If you could just e-mail it to me by 7 in the morning, that would be brilliant." Sharpay stood from the table, picked up her pink fluffy folder, and turned to return to her rightful place overlooking the cafeteria.

Gabriella cleared her throat. "Sharpay? You're going to have to help me."

Sharpay spun around and narrowed her eyes. "Repeat?"

"I can't write a budget if I don't know what your plans are for the year. The whole purpose of a budget is to work out how money is going to be spent and raised in order to fund your plans and activities."

"So you mean I would have to like, work on this…. With you?" Sharpay said dubiously.

The two girls were looking at one another, contemplating the notion of one on one time. Ryan sensed the sudden tension which blanketed above.

"Why don't you come over after rehearsal? You can stay for dinner and then the two of you can organise the budget. I have all of my old files and things at home so I can show you the structure I've followed the last couple of years," Ryan offered.

Sharpay coughed. "Umm… well… I guess. I suppose I'll have to help, won't I?"

"Unless you want Darbus to kick your ass," Ryan supplied cheerfully.

Sharpay paused contemplatively. "Maybe I could just get daddy's accountant…."

"I'll do it," Gabriella relented, letting out a slight sigh. "That's… that's fine. To go to your house to work on it. If… if you don't mind."

Sharpay nodded curtly. "Excellent. Tonight then."

Troy was approaching the lunch table balancing his book bag and tray, hearing the trail end of Sharpay's sentence before she strutted dramatically away from the group.

"What's happening tonight?" he asked, sitting down across from Gabriella.

"Sharpay flaked and forgot she had to do a budget for the drama club. And somehow I am now Finance Director and I am going to be working on it with her tonight," Gabriella said, a pang of bitterness in her tone.

"I think this is a good thing," Ryan said. "I want you to get along with her. I get that it's… hard for you. Given… well… lots of stuff. But… you know, you're my friend and she's my sister."

"Ryan, we're doing a budget together, not getting our hair and nails done," Gabriella said, somewhat amused.

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "You've never seen Sharpay doing her homework, have you?"

* * *

At 9pm that night, Gabriella was sitting back in a cushy armchair at the Evans' mansion. She had a laptop resting on her lap; and she had cotton balls between her toes, which were now painted a light shade of pink.

"And then for our Christmas party, I would like a Christmas gala, with famous Hollywood celebrities," Sharpay said. "You know, for inspiration to our aspiring thespians."

Gabriella closed her eyes wearily. "Is this also something you wanted to do last year but couldn't?"

"Uh huh. Ryan said it wasn't practical. Who cares what is practical. Mingling with celebrities is exactly what will motivate the members of the club to perform most effectively."

Gabriella took a deep breath. "And if we can't afford the gala, what is your back up Christmas party idea?"

"I guess… I guess a trip to the local theatre," Sharpay relented, rolling her eyes. "But that is most absolutely a back up, only if necessary."

Gabriella nodded wearily. "Sounds great. But you know… we might be able to fit the gala into the budget."

Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, which seemed to be lost on Sharpay.

"I hope so."

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Ryan's cheerful voice came from behind.

Gabriella had never been so grateful to see Ryan Evans in her life.

"Really well. I think I've nearly got all the information I need so I might pop home soon to work on it," Gabriella said, closing her laptop defiantly, and leaning over to nestle it into its case.

This was her desperate plea of, _please please please get me out of here._

"We can organise the driver to take you home," Sharpay said, blowing on her finger nails.

"Uh… it's okay I can call my mom," Gabriella said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Or I'll just drive you. That way I can talk about the plans I just worked on along the way," Ryan suggested.

"Thanks."

Gabriella reached over to carefully pull the cottonballs from between her toes. "Thanks for the information Sharpay, I'll uh… I'll do my best to work in as many of your ideas as possible. But well, especially with the loss of the auditorium, I think you'll find that the funds will be stretched this year."

"Thank you for agreeing to help with it. It's always good to get all the members involved with the running of the club," Sharpay said, her voice sickly sweet. She then added in a more serious tone. "And umm… I was kinda screwed so… so thanks."

"You're welcome," Gabriella said, with a smile. "Anyway we should get going or I'll be up all night working on it."

"Umm… do you have my cell phone number?" Sharpay asked hesitantly. "You can call me if you need any more information. Don't want it to get screwed up."

"I have it on the drama club contact list," Gabriella replied.

"Excellent. Just don't call too late. Or too early. Or any time between 9 and 10."

Gabriella struggled to not roll her eyes, she just smiled sweetly. "Okay."

"Fabulous. Well, toodles!"

* * *

"Well, here we are," Ryan announced cheerfully as he pulled up outside of Gabriella's house.

"Thank God that's over," Gabriella said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Oh come on, surely it wasn't that bad? I know that you don't mind having another title for your college application. And as far as Sharpay goes, she seemed pretty tame tonight."

"Maybe," Gabriella said dubiously.

Ryan exhaled. "Am I naïve to think that you and my sister will ever be friends?"

Gabriella sighed. "I… I don't know, Ry. It's… it's hard. I know she hasn't been running around causing chaos this year but… I can't help but just feel like any day she might all of a sudden do something again. I can't help but feel… but feel…"

"Threatened?" Ryan supplied.

"No… no I didn't say that," Gabriella insisted. "If that was the case then I would be all weird and paranoid around half the female population."

"But half the female population hasn't actually done anything about their feelings for Troy since you've been dating him."

"I just feel wary around her. Just… about a bit of everything. I think that's reasonable."

"I think my sister has grown up a lot this year. She spent all this time over the last year trying to control everyone else around her so that she could emerge as the star. This year, I think she's just putting her energies into herself. You know she's taking an extra voice lesson outside of school, and she's been searching online for parts within student films and stuff."

"That's good. Hopefully that'll keep her busy," Gabriella said.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "You'd better get to work on that budget. Call me if you need anything, don't even try to call Sharpay."

Gabriella giggled. "I wouldn't have dreamed of it." She opened the door to his car to step outside.

"Gabriella? I really do appreciate it. I know you didn't do it for me and I know you were kinda bullied into it but… it really does mean a lot."

She gave him a tight smile. "You're welcome."

* * *

**Author's Note:** So I personally don't like the lack of… I guess the lack of consistent emotion throughout this chapter. It just sits strangely, I'm trying to sort of establish that there's all this different stuff going on; that even as Zeke is dealing with the aftermath of the discovery of Monica, that other stuff is going on, that the musical continues, that the drama club is undertaking different activities, that other relationships are still in tension. But it just… I don't know. I can't pinpoint it. A writer is her greatest critic I guess. Maybe branching out and writing angst was a terrible thing because now I read this and pretty much despise it. Don't panic. I've already written drafts for up until chapter 40 so it's not like I'm going to flip out and put this on hiatus or anything.

I promise there will be some naughty Z rated TxG next chapter to make up for the void of much TxG interaction here. Although, I shouldn't feel the need to 'make up' for it as I explicated from Chapter 1 that this story was not only about TxG.


	31. The Story So Far

**S O M E D A Y : The Story So Far**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: **This is not a new chapter****. **

Sorry to get you all excited.

A while ago I included a _**Previously**_ section and asked you guys if you thought it was useful or not. Some of you said yes, some of you specifically said that you personally like to piece together the puzzle yourself. I wound up deciding to not include it on a regular basis mainly because I think that within _Someday_ including **_Previously_** before each chapter would actually give a lot away. You would go into the chapter thinking, for example _'Right, so in the previously section she included a scene with Troy and Gabriella talking about sex so maybe THIS is the chapter where they'll finally do the dirty deed.'_

So instead, here I have written a brief, brief, brief, brief, brief outline of everything that has happened thus far. Think of it like in the middle of _Lost_ each season when they have a recap episode. Because I know that some of you are reading about eighty million stories at once and I get that sometimes it can become difficult to keep everything straight. This story is super complex however, and I won't be outlining the key details. Rather just think of it as… a really scant refresher. When I say scant, I mean scant. Context - this story is so far over 160,000 words long. This brief brief outline is less than 2000 words long.

I reiterate, this chapter contains no new information. It is merely a recap of the general plot and developments from the last thirty chapters. It is not necessary to read this if you feel like you are up to speed and know everything that's going on. There will be no exam at the end. :-)

An ACTUAL new chapter will be posted soon, like within the next day… I hope… Fingers crossed. :-)

* * *

**THE STORY SO FAR - A RECAP **

Summer vacation was drawing to an end when the Wildcats were finally able to enjoy their summer as they should have from the beginning. Following the Redhawks/Sharpay/Mr Evans/Talent show debacle, Troy and Gabriella conducted a deep discussion or two about the events that unfolded as a result of their work at Lava Springs and the. Their relationship emerged stronger than ever, and continued to move ahead in strides. Chad finally asked Taylor out just before the school year went back, laying foundations for a promising relationship. Meanwhile Zeke possessed a newfound determination to move on from his fixation on Sharpay. The dance of shy, awkward flirtation continued between Jason and Kelsi. Ryan has forged his place within the group, and cementing his burgeoning friendship with Gabriella by revealing to her his homosexuality. Despite Ryan's increased involvement with his new friends, Sharpay has resisted efforts from her brother to include her within his new social circle.

It is senior year, and our Wildcats have entered the year with high hopes for the year that lay ahead. Class office elections see Ryan and Gabriella team up to succeed at winning the roles of Class President and Vice President respectively. Kelsi dedicated the majority of her free time over summer toward preparing a musical composition. With Gabriella's assistance with polishing the script, _Once Upon A Time_ was officially selected to be East High's Fall Musical. With Coach Bolton's determination for back to back championships, basketball training never truly ceased, with preparations for the season taking place. The new team is selected with fresh young blood being brought up to join our Wildcats, and with Troy voted to once again lead the team. With the support of friends – including newly voted in head cheerleader and close friend and confidante Paula – Troy's energy is channelled toward the ultimate direction of victory.

However not everything was bound to run smoothly. The pressure is on, with talk shifting to SATs, college applications and that scary six letter word – the **_FUTURE_**. A fire at the school destroys the auditorium and adjacent classrooms. Preparation for basketball season is threatened with the gym now being utilised to house classes. Additionally, there is speculation that the fall musical will be cancelled before auditions have even taken place, with no auditorium and East High facing a series of budgetary constraints making it impossible to acquire an alternative location to put the show on. However as per usual, our Wildcats can work it out if they're all in it together. Ryan pulls strings and facilitates for his father to allow the fall musical to proceed with Lava Springs designated to provide a stage.

Basketball season soldiered on despite the interruptions to training schedule, largely due to Troy being able to utilise his links with the Redhawks gained over summer to provide the team with a temporary training location. The fall musical auditions went ahead, with Kelsi's new script _Once Upon A Time_ providing opportunity for all of our favourite Wildcats opportunities to star; with the plot revolving around six key main characters. Despite his initial reservations, Troy decided to audition – with a promise from Ryan that a rehearsal schedule would be created around his basketball training schedule. Troy ultimately became the only of the group to face a call back audition – against new kid in town, the thorn in Troy's side Theodore Gallagher. Pompous to his very core, Theodore arrived as the new kid with an extensive musical theatre background. However ultimately, Troy – with the assistance of his friends – was able to deliver an audition that was not only polished but also emotive and demonstrative of the stage chemistry between himself and Gabriella. Sharpay, Ryan, Gabriella and Troy wound up with starring roles; additionally Ryan stepped down from his role as co drama club president in order to step up into an assistant director and assistant choreographer role. Theodore was named as stage manager – in position to randomly pop up as an annoying twit at any given moment in time.

Amidst the chaos, relationships both flourished and faltered. Troy and Gabriella's relationship has seen development both emotionally and physically. A verbal expression of the mutual love they share was had, followed shortly by delving into the realms of the increased physical attraction between them. The strength of their emotional connection proved to increasingly reinforce as steps have been made in the direction of the ultimate consummation of their love. With Gabriella and Ryan working closely together for their roles in class office, their friendship flourished – leaving Troy with an attack of the green eye monster. Perspective of the situation is gained from the unusual source of Sharpay, allowing Troy to realise that he was ultimately going to sabotage his relationship if he couldn't demonstrate the maturity to trust Gabriella. Bigger issues began to boil, with the future and where the relationship may stand within the future becoming an increasingly evident issue. Ultimately, Troy and Gabriella decide to continue with their college searches and application process independent of one another, and to push the issue aside to be dealt with after the musical. Their relationship is stronger than ever, largely because they have allowed themselves to exist within their own bubble and not allow the pressures of the external world to affect them.

Chad's home life took a more than stressful turn, with his mother's live in boyfriend leaving Chad's mom for another woman. In turn leaving the family in the lurch with a mounting debt and rent more than could be handled. In ironically tragic timing, right when Chad needed someone to turn to, he felt as though he could neither turn to his best friend nor his girlfriend. Troy's world had become increasingly consumed by advanced classes, the musical, the never ending quest to open doors into the professional basketball world, and the newfound depths of his relationship with Gabriella. Chad's relationship with Taylor had been developing beautifully until a random remark from Chad threw Chad into a spin, causing him to question whether Taylor took him seriously – and more importantly, whether he took himself seriously. The result of Chad's self doubt was a resolve to hide his home life developments from Taylor, as he was determined to prove to himself that he was capable of fixing the situation himself, without help or sympathy from anyone else. As he became increasingly involved in trying to help his family – doing household chores and acting as a caregiver for his younger sister – Chad's behaviour became suspicious, and he has been very secretive and closed about his emotions, placing significant pressure and strain upon his relationship with Taylor; and similarly upon his friendship with Troy.

A little relief came for Chad came in the form of his newly found friendship with Ryan. In many ways, the two boys bond over the simple fact that they have practically nothing in common and yet nevertheless have a mutual respect for one another. A spontaneous, gut instinct decision on Ryan's part results in him revealing his homosexuality to Chad. On the same day, Ryan accidentally discovers Chad's home situation, resulting in Chad finally letting down his guard and outlining the details to Ryan.

Ryan's life had turned upside down. Running for class president allowed Ryan to make the ultimate of metaphorical public declarations, letting the world know that he had stepped out from Sharpay's shadow. He has thrown himself into his leadership role, and additionally into his increased responsibilities for the fall musical production. However the changes came at a slight cost, being a now tumultuous relationship with his sister. Sharpay experienced significant difficulty coming to terms with her twins sudden integration into a new social circle – a social circle she was not a part of. The process of coping with the changes has been slow and also ongoing. The fire in the school auditorium hit Sharpay close to home, with her precious chapel of the arts destroyed and facing the concept of not having her art to cling to. However once the obstacle was overcome, Sharpay threw herself into the new musical, as well as her performing arts roles outside of school. Sharpay is also struggling to come to terms with truly understanding that there is no hope for her and Troy, with a part of her holding onto her feelings for him.

Zeke's determination to move on from his crush on Sharpay led to him pursuing a relationship with his friend and popular cheerleader Monica. They weren't strangers to one another, having casually hooked up more than once before, however Monica had kept Zeke at arm's length, well aware of his feelings for Sharpay. Finally Monica relented, and allowed herself to believe that Zeke's feelings lay with her and not with Sharpay. Their relationship seemed to be off to a sparkling start, however came to a crashing halt when Taylor and Gabriella found Monica kissing an ex-boyfriend, who plays for the West High Knights.

As individuals, Kelsi and Jason have each been working at their creative endeavours. Kelsi's heart was dashed when there was speculation of the fall musical being cancelled, however now that rehearsals are underway, she is more excited than ever to see her composition come to fruition. Jason has finally completed his screenplay for a short film he intends to film – possibly over Thanksgiving break. With Kelsi's encouragement, his far off dream is becoming closer to being a reality. After a drawn out flirtation, Jason and Kelsi finally took the dive and went on their first date. Their relationship has developed quietly, subtly, not being affected by the melodramatics of the overall group dynamic.

With senior year well underway (time frame - it is the end of October) and the pointy end of the stick looming, the pressure is on now more than ever. How will senior year continue to unfold, will our Wildcats collapse under the pressure or will they rise above?

Stay tuned to find out. :-)

**

* * *

Author's Note:** If you read this and found it to be of any benefit, be a sweetheart and let me know. I'm just curious to know whether this is a constructive tool that I could think about using in my future work. And once again, you can anticipate a real update very very soon. -Dani xo


	32. Chapter 31

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **It sounds like it is some obligatory chore whenever I say this but believe me, the gratitude and appreciation for my beta readers is so unfathomably real its hard to believe. Ayen (_zvkg-ai) _and Martin _(emptrajan) _totally rock my world :-)

**

* * *

****Chapter 31**

"And then today when Ms Darbus was saying how fantastic the budget was, how well planned, Sharpay didn't even credit me with it. She just… oohhh…" Gabriella moaned mid sentence. "… said that a lot of work was put into it and that she wanted… shit that feels good… she wanted Ms Darbus to remember how fantastic this year was with Sharpay at the lead. What am I, chopped liver?"

"Hardly," Troy murmured, applying additional pressure on her lower back.

"That's it… right there… so good…"

Gabriella was lying on her stomach on her bed, wearing only a matching red lacy boy short panties and bra set. Troy, in a pair of navy plaid cotton boxers, was straddling her; weight on her upper thighs and ass, as his hands worked magic on Gabriella's back and neck.

"I can't believe how tense you are. You had the perfect opportunity to sit back and do nothing this semester and somehow you've managed to wind up doing more than anyone else – as per usual," Troy remarked.

"I do no more than you," Gabriella pointed out. "You have basketball every day after school. And you work nearly every Saturday morning. And… ohhh shit you're good at this… and the musical in every other spare moment. Not to mention school work."

"I happen to enjoy basketball and singing and golf. You can't tell me that you find coordinating pep rallies and fundraisers and writing budgets to be fun?"

Troy was now using the pressure from the heel of his hands to run up the centre of her back.

"I don't mind it."

"Anyway, we shouldn't be talking about stressful things. It's like every time I work a kink away, it is just recreated."

"I should be massaging you. You're the one in the middle of a high intensity athletic competition," Gabriella said. Her tone wasn't particularly definitive, rather her tone dripped with the obligatory nature of suggesting a switch in positions, when in reality, she could remain lying beneath his magic touch for hours.

"Ssshh," Troy hushed her, shimmying up slightly to give himself easier access to her upper back and neck. "Just relax."

Gabriella allowed herself to simply be' to lie and allow herself to not only relax but to be taken to a whole other place. His fingers had deftly unhooked her bra, providing a more open access to the smooth skin of her back.

"I don't know whether to be appreciative or concerned that you are this good with your hands," she murmured breathily.

Gabriella had spent the last two days in a state of stress. She'd only gotten a few hours sleep on Tuesday night after staying up until the wee hours to complete Sharpay's budget. The follow on affect was that even Gabriella, in all of her genius, wound up behind in her homework. Therefore Wednesday night was another late night filled with research and essays. On Thursday afternoon, when Troy had suggested the massage, it truly hadn't been in a sexual context. However straddling his underwear clad girlfriend as she moaned beneath him…

"Troy… are you…"

"Gabriella, you're here in your underwear moaning, what affect do you think you're going to have upon me?"

"Well Troy, you're sitting on me in your underwear, running your hands all over me, causing me to moan – what affect do you think it is that you're having upon me?"

* * *

"You're telling me you've seen every single one of these movies?" Kelsi asked incredulously, her finger running along the top row of the 'S' movies within the comedy section.

Jason nodded. "I own probably… half of them."

The two were standing in the movie rental store in the small shopping complex just up the road from East High School. The pair had met up at the beginning of their afternoon off, spontaneously deciding to head out and grab lunch together. Jason had the film editing lab booked from 2 – 3; Kelsi had a date with her math textbook in the library before she was meeting with Sharpay to work on her ballad at 3. However Kelsi and Jason required feeding, and the notion of avoiding cafeteria food was highly appealing.

"That's… that's crazy! And expensive!" Kelsi gasped.

"Okay, I know I haven't seen your room, but I could guess that you own almost every CD that exists?" Jason pointed out.

Kelsi blushed. "Well…"

"And you have your own guitar, and a piano, and a keyboard, and a clarinet?"

"I don't have my own drum kit," she offered.

"And I don't have a Lamborghini," Jason shot back.

Kelsi giggled. "Okay, okay you got me. But still, having all those DVDs, must make your place the hang out for movie watching?"

"More likely that the guys think my house is their own personal DVD library that they can borrow from and take back to their own houses," Jason said. "We hang out at Troy's mostly. He has the best hoop. And his TV is bigger."

"Oh big whoop. Your house is awesome. And who wants to hang around a teacher outside of school hours all the time?"

Jason grinned. "You've been to my house?"

"Your party last year," Kelsi reminded him. "Well uh… I sort of remember it."

"You were pretty smashed hey," Jason remarked teasingly.

"Embarrassingly so. I didn't realise that only a couple of drinks would affect me that badly."

"That's coz you're like, this big," Jason said, holding up his index finger. "Maybe umm… maybe you could come over again and hang out. We could watch a movie or something. So you could… see my house again."

Kelsi smiled. "Really?"

"Well uh… yeah."

"I'd like that!"

"Uh… how about this weekend? We sorta did say we were going to do something," Jason added casually, almost afraid that she had forgotten.

"That we did," Kelsi replied, unable to wipe the bright smile from her face. Since they had agreed upon the concept of the second date, and left the details to be determined later – she had been petrified to bring it up again. Clingy-ness was not an aura she wanted to exude.

Jason began to muse his weekend schedule out loud. "I know you said you're busy Saturday night, and I think me and the boys are doing something anyway. And obviously we have basketball Friday night. But umm… What about Sunday afternoon?"

"Sounds perfect."

"Snap."

Kelsi glanced at the time on her cell phone. "We should get back to school."

Jason groaned. "What's the point in having this whole afternoon off? I feel like I'm always at school anyway. Specially since we now have our training in our gym. No different setting or anything."

"Oh come on, it's not that bad. We get to hang out," Kelsi said, the words tumbling out of her mouth in a flirtatious tone she didn't even know she had within. Jason grinned, and was about to respond when Kelsi continued the sentence in a rush, almost trying to cover up the flirtation. "And then you get to work on your film project which I know you enjoy. And then you like basketball. It's not like you have to go do math home work in the library like me. And then work with Sharpay."

"All right. You win," Jason said simply. "But well… you get to hang out with me too. So… hopefully that makes the rest of the afternoon not so bad."

Their eyes met in a cautious glance at one another, smiles forming on both of their lips.

"Not bad at all."

* * *

"I'd almost forgotten what that felt like," Taylor murmured.

She'd just broken away from Chad in the midst of a steamy make out session in her bedroom. A steamy make out session that had already resulted in the removal of her button up blouse and his t-shirt.

Given that their relationship had developed after a physical relationship of sorts had already been established, things had progressed at a level slower than anticipated. Taylor felt as though she and Chad spent more time together forcing out conversation than actually enjoying one another's company. Every time she mentioned that they could have some privacy at her house, he seemed to have somewhere more important to be, something more important to be doing. Taylor led a busy lifestyle herself, she understood that people had other responsibilities and obligations. But it seemed peculiar that her once permanently horny boyfriend was turning down offers for hours of uninterrupted privacy.

"What what felt like?" Chad asked, stroking the side of her face lightly.

"For you to kiss me and actually feel like you're here with me wanting to be kissing me."

Chad had to bite his tongue. A part of him was annoyed with her for making that comment. She had to go and ruin a perfectly nice moment by highlighting the fallouts of their relationship. He wanted to snap, what, you think I enjoy grocery shopping and making packed lunches and doing the laundry? But it wasn't her fault, he was the one who had chosen to withhold information about his life. And he didn't want to ruin the precious time they did have together.

"If it was up to me, we would be here doing this every second of every day," Chad murmured. He ran his hand up Taylor's leg, and pried at the waistband of her denim skirt.

* * *

The positions were now reversed. It was Gabriella who was straddling Troy. Except in a twist, Troy was on his back rather than on his stomach. His boxers had been discarded and she had snaked her way down the bed, her weight on his lower thighs. A hand was wrapped around the base of his length, stroking sensually, before leaning over to swirl her tongue playfully around the head.

"Ohhh fuck…" Troy groaned.

His hands felt a desperate need to be touching her, his lips to be tasting her. And yet there was no way that he could bear to have her desist from her current actions. Amidst the anticipatory haze of what he knew was coming, an idea was forming in his brain.

"Gabriella… can you turn around?" he managed to ask, as she was in the midst of trailing sloppy kisses along his length.

"Huh?" she asked, lifting her head to look at him questioningly.

He had a deliciously perfect view of her pert breasts within her current position leaning over his length. However the view which he desired was of a different nature. Troy twirled his finger in a turn around motion, which she tentatively abided by, a few beats behind in the realisation of his insinuation. He sat up a little, his hands grasping onto her thighs, and guided her to crawl backwards up the bed and toward him. It was only when he had her poised in the ideal position that the penny dropped and she realised what he was initiating. She was now on all fours, like a cat, holding her weight above him. Her head hovering over his semi erect length, and providing him with perfect view and perfect access to the very essence of her womanhood.

"Oh God! People actually do this?" she asked, with a slight giggle, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Supposedly, so the porn leads me to believe," Troy teased. His thumbs hooked onto her panties and removed the obstructive item. "This may be the ultimate test of man's ability to multi task, and we'll learn soon enough whether I am capable."

"I'm really wishing it wasn't so bright in here," Gabriella murmured, feeling a little insecure.

Troy smirked. There was no difference in the lighting than every other time. Curtains closed, lights off, lamp on.

"That wouldn't work, then I couldn't see what I was doing," he responded. "Could you pass me that cushion?"

Gabriella grabbed at the cushion in question, and then looked back at him as she handed him the item. "Quite comfortable there, Mr Bolton?" she enquired with a smile. She was watching as he placed the additional cushion under his head to provide him with more height, and therefore better access.

"Indeed I am. The view's pretty hot, too," he said lewdly. He punctuated his point by gripping onto her thighs to pull her down to meet his awaiting tongue.

A moan of undulating pleasure escaped from Gabriella's mouth, with her instant response being to sink the warmth of her mouth around Troy's hard member. She held her weight with one arm, allowing her to grasp onto his length with her hand and slowly pump at the base. Her lips and tongue were teasing and twirling and flicking and kissing at the head. One of her immediate thoughts following his initiation of the activity was a contemplation of how she could manage it. The previous week, she had literally been putty within his hands, incapable of action or thought. But now, Troy's tongue was trailing lazily along the warm flesh of her slick folds, tasting every inch of her womanly centre. And with his hardening length at her mercy, it was almost a primal force within which gave her the ability to reciprocate his actions. With every spark of pleasure she felt building within, it only served to spur her actions.

Troy wasn't certain whether it was subconscious or deliberate, but she kept attempting to reposition herself, suddenly bucking and causing his tongue to cause friction exactly where she wanted it, where she needed it. He kept a firm grasp upon her thighs, keeping her still, revelling upon maintaining control of the situation. He enjoyed teasing, he loved hearing her muffles, pants and moans of frustration as he withheld from giving her exactly what she wanted. Her womanly essence, seeing her, smelling her, tasting her – it was an aphrodisiac, one which only made him feel more aroused.

* * *

Shirts had been discarded almost immediately after entering the room; skirts and trousers had soon followed. Chad, wearing only striped cotton boxers, and was poised above Taylor. Lips were fused together, tongues battling, hands clawing. When they were together like this, everything was okay. Tension was removed. Chad could allow himself to become immersed within Taylor, within Taylor's lips and Taylor's hair and Taylor's hands. To look into her eyes and see just how attracted she was to him.

Almost every other aspect of Taylor's life was ordered, structured, organised.

_Almost_ every aspect.

Lying on her bed, back arching as Chad's teeth teased at her nipples, as his hands set her skin on fire - it was only with Chad when Taylor felt as though she could relinquish control. That she could succumb to her desires, that she could remain completely uncensored and let go.

"Fuck Taylor…" Chad groaned, as her hand snaked down to quickly dispense of his boxers, freeing his length.

His lips met hers in a series of furious, zealous kisses. Chad trailed his hand down her side, his fingers toying with her slick folds through the barrier of her panties. His kisses had trailed back down to her neck, where his lips were fixated on her breasts. Taylor pulled him back up, lips once again fusing together. Her legs wrapped around him, straddling him from beneath, feeling a desperate need for their bodies to be as close as physically possible. His hard length was now being pushed against her very centre, only the thin material of her wet satin panties separating them. He rocked gently, grunting lowly; and eliciting a moan from her as he created friction against her clit.

A part of Taylor wanted to throw all caution into the wind. Wanted to demand he produce the condom from his wallet, wanted to demand he rip her panties away and fulfill the very desire she felt at that exact moment in time.

"Chad," Taylor moaned breathily. "Shit… oh my…"

He was rock hard, his movements now sliding from where the material covered her opening, to the magical nub. He wasn't silent, his own grunts and groans indicating exactly how aroused he was at that exact moment

"Chad…" Taylor gasped.

He was looking directly at her eyes which were closed so tightly. Not desisting from his movements, Chad leaned down to press a soft, lingering kiss to her lips. Her eyes fluttered open, sensing his intent gaze. He could see the look of wild abandon in her eyes.

He could also see the hint of uncertainty.

"Taylor… you don't want this, do you?" he murmured, calling upon every ounce of his strength to ease away from her.

She closed her eyes, willing the brimming tears to go away.

"Tay?" Chad questioned gently.

She shook her head. "No," she managed to say.

He collapsed onto the bed beside her, cradling her into his arms. "That's okay," he said soothingly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I want to fix us."

"By… by going along with… with where that was going?"

"I'm ready Chad. I truly am ready. If all that mattered was that I was ready and wanted to do it, then we would be doing it."

"But?" he prodded.

"We aren't ready. You and I. In… in our current state. And for a moment… I thought that maybe it would take doing it to… to fix that…"

Chad swallowed, his brain swimming with thoughts. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice hoarse. "You're right… you're right that we aren't ready. You might be ready and I might be ready but… but we're not. And that's my fault, I know that."

"Hey! No… it's no one's fault. We've only been going out for a couple of months," Taylor said.

Even as she spoke the words, she couldn't help but feel that she was lying, that she was placating him despite her true belief that what he had said was right.

"We do need to fix this but… but you were right to stop it. This isn't the way to do it," Chad said firmly. "Even me in my raging teenage horniness knows that it wouldn't be fair to you."

She glanced down, noting his still raging erection. "I don't want to stop doing what we've been doing. I just think that we need to work on us before we take that final step."

* * *

Finally Troy succumbed to the insistent bucking of Gabriella's hips, allowing his tongue to trail north ever so slightly and tease at her clitoris. She moaned as the ecstasy rippled through her body. The initial eagerness to multitask was fading as Troy struggled, he was struggling because his brain followed his blood and his blood was all rushing in the direction of his penis. He needed to be concentrating on his flicking tongue and teasing lips.

He wasn't far away, he was in fact blissfully close. Gabriella knew this, his precum had been evident for a while, his length rock hard beneath her. She too wasn't far away, her hips bucking involuntarily, practically humping against the skilled lips and tongue below. Her bobbing head was becoming more frantic within its movements, she had moved on from teasing and now had one goal and only one goal in mind. As steadily as she could possibly manage within her current writhing state, her lips moved down his shaft as far as she dared, and then retracted, twirling her tongue as she was at the very head. Repeat until finished.

In the moment of his orgasm, Troy clenched harder onto Gabriella's thighs; channelling his grunting and groaning into the frantic movement of his tongue. He felt his liquid spilling; he felt the softness of her lips, which popped as she slid him out of her mouth; he felt her tongue twirling languorously, licking up the remnants of his seed. All the while she was panting, writhing, moaning. As she completed her task, she was so incredibly close to her own climax. She leaned down further, her back arching as she rested her weight on her elbows with her arms wrapped around and clenching onto his upper thighs. The new angle gave Troy even better access; and it only took a few more definitive flicks to succeed at his mission. Gabriella cried out in ecstasy, her pants and moans escalating into a drawn out guttural cry, moaning his name over and over amidst expletives.

Gabriella shifted herself to the side, turned around, and allowed herself to collapse onto the softness of the mattress. Troy immediately pulled her close to him, nestling her within his arms and entangling their legs. He sat up only for long enough to pull up the comforter to cover them.

"I think you had the more comfortable position there," Gabriella remarked softly, pressing a kiss against his chest.

Troy chuckled. "We'll swap next time."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Troy's eyes were drooping closed as the two lay in a comfortable silence. Gabriella sensed the alteration to his breathing, and glanced behind her, noting that he had indeed drifted off to sleep. She glanced at the clock, and reached out to grab her cell phone from the nightstand to set an alarm.

* * *

Kelsi was dreading the rehearsal with Sharpay. Conflicts in scheduling had prevented the two from sitting to go through the ballad until that day. The style of Kelsi's script was in many ways inspired by Les Miserables; and Sharpay's ballad had a definite 'On My Own' vibe to it. Esmeralda spends the majority of her time throughout the show 'in love' with Mike – knowing all the way through that the love is unrequited. When Kelsi had first written the ballad for Esmeralda, she had been acutely aware that the role would appeal to Sharpay and had in many ways written it in the hope of tapping into Sharpay's singing abilities. To highlight that when you took away the glitter and melodrama, that beneath it all there was a very talented girl.

Nevertheless, Kelsi was anticipating arriving at their session to be being bombarded with requests for more glitter and melodrama. Queries as to where exactly the parts for the back up singers were. There were no backup singers. This song was simple and emotional, simply about Esmeralda, pouring her heart out to the world.

Sharpay was five minutes late. She didn't apologise for being late, she simply sat down on the stool next to the piano and brought out her sheet music.

"So let's just run through it once and see how it goes, okay?" She commanded authority, although within their current positions it was technically Kelsi who would be in charge of the session. However Kelsi was surprised by Sharpay's direct, to the point approach and merely nodded and agreed.

Kelsi began to play, and Sharpay began to sing.

And Kelsi was blown away.

Sharpay could sing. She could really sing. Kelsi had always known it but… now she really knew it. This was the first run through. Certainly Sharpay would have practiced at home, but it was the first time Kelsi had heard her sing the piece, it hadn't even been attacked and polished yet, and already it was incredible. Raw, emotional, moving, passionate.

When the song ended, Kelsi was silent. She didn't react, she couldn't react, she was so blown away that she was practically speechless. Sharpay was looking at her questiongly, eyebrows raised.

"Well?" Sharpay said expectantly, fishing for a compliment.

"Wow," Kelsi finally managed to say. "That was… that was amazing." However there was nothing manufactured about Kelsi's response.

Sharpay was pleased with herself. "I know."

It was almost too good to be true, and Kelsi couldn't help but think that the blow was simply impending and that she should speed the process to get it over and done with. "You uh… You don't think that the tempo should be sped up or…"

Sharpay looked at Kelsi, astonished. "It's a ballad Kelsi. The tempo is right as it is. You're the composer, you should get that."

Kelsi nodded quickly. "No, no, I see what you mean. You're right. It truly was amazing, Sharpay. I mean, there are bits we can work on but…. I felt that."

"Well it's a very moving piece. My character obviously loves Troy, she really genuinely loves him and it's tearing her apart seeing him fawning over Nina."

Kelsi blinked. "What did you just say?"

"Are you okay today? Are you sick? If so, I don't think I want to be around you, as a performer I cannot afford to get ill."

"No I just… I thought you said…"

"I said that it is a moving piece and that my character obviously loves…."

Until that moment, Sharpay's tone had been condescending. Then it hit her, and she froze. In that moment, the look of realisation, the vulnerability as she caught onto her own Freudian slip – it gave it all away. Sharpay laughed slightly. "Mike. My character loves Mike. Did I say Troy before? Obviously that came out that way since Troy is playing Mike." Sharpay's tone was higher than normal, and she was speaking quickly.

"Right," Kelsi said, swallowing. "Of course."

Sharpay looked at Kelsi. Kelsi looked at Sharpay. Kelsi knew it was a bluff. Sharpay knew that Kelsi knew that it was a bluff.

"Let's run it again," Sharpay said briskly. "I want to concentrate on the key change, I don't think I quite nailed it."

Kelsi nodded. "From the top."

* * *

"Troy?" Gabriella whispered, shaking him gently.

"Mmmm."

"Troy?" she repeated, a little more insistently.

"What?" was his groggy, somewhat annoyed response.

"Nap time over."

"Why?" his hoarse question came.

"Because you have training in a half hour."

"I hate basketball."

"No you don't."

"Five more minutes," Troy said sleepily, pulling Gabriella into his embrace, kissing her shoulder lazily.

"Your mom must have had a lot of trouble with you when you were younger, getting you out of bed."

"Good thing I developed a training ethic and get up of my own free will to go for a run."

"Come on," Gabriella prodded, disentangling herself from him. "You probably won't have time for a shower but you at least need to look half way presentable unless you want your dad to start banning us from spending time together."

"My dad knows very well that our activities aren't entirely PG-13, he chooses to pretend he doesn't know," Troy said wryly.

Nevertheless, he somehow mustered the strength to swing his legs off the bed. He wearily reached out for his gym bag which sat at the foot of the bed. Gabriella also stood from the bed. Troy watched in admiration as her naked form gracefully crossed the room, before taking her bathrobe from the hook on the back of the door and slipping it around herself. She breezed out of the room to go to the bathroom. She returned a minute later, with a toothbrush laden with toothpaste, handing it to him.

"You're so cute," Troy said with a laugh, but nevertheless accepted the item.

It didn't take Troy long to change into his training gear, brush his teeth and even run some product through his hair.

"Umm… are you doing anything after training?" Gabriella asked.

"Homework is pretty high on the agenda. I gather that with your absence, the guys are going to monopolise my time this weekend. Which is fair enough… given that we wanna hang with Zeke and stuff."

"Do you want to come here to study?" she asked. "You can have dinner here too, if you wanted."

"Since when do you and I study together?" Troy asked, raising an eyebrow and giving her a coy smile.

"My mom will be here," Gabriella replied, rolling her eyes. "I just… kinda wanna hang with you. Before I go away."

There was an unnecessary pleading and imploring element to her tone.

"Like I was going to say no to the suggestion," Troy replied, kissing her softly.

"I would hope not," she replied with a slight blush.

"I'll be back around 6 then."

* * *

Training was relatively uneventful. The team had fallen into a rhythm, they'd been training at such an intense level that they were very familiar with one another and the training procedures. Before Troy knew it, it was 5:30 and training was over. The rest of the team trotted off into the locker rooms to shower, but Troy hung back, hovering around his dad.

"Uh, if it's cool with you, I'm going to go to Gabriella's for a while tonight," Troy said casually.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just come from Gabriella's?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah but… I think she wants to spend time together before she's away this weekend."

"That's right. The Harvard trip."

"Not just Harvard. They're going to check out MIT and Cambridge too."

Jack sensed something in Troy's tone. It wasn't jealousy or resentment, but there was definitely an element of discomfort at the notion of the girls' trip.

"Okay then. You know your curfew."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Troy?"

"You did well today, I was impressed. Keep your game at that level and who knows that opportunities will come your way."

"Hopefully."

"Now go on, get out of here. Don't want to keep her waiting."

* * *

Troy rang the doorbell at the Montez household, waiting in anticipation for Gabriella's mom to answer it. Instead Gabriella answered, still dressed in her bathrobe.

"Good to see you dress up when you have company over," Troy teased.

Gabriella smiled coyly, grabbed onto each side of his jacket and pulled him toward her for a lingering, languorous kiss. She pulled him past the doorway and shut the door behind them with her foot.

Troy managed to pull himself away, and glanced wildly around, expecting Gabriella's mom to appear at any given moment. "Umm… what the?"

Wordlessly and efficiently, Gabriella led Troy up the hallway to the answering machine, and pressed play.

"Hey Gabi it's mom, just letting you know I'll be home a little late tonight, around 8. Love you, see you tonight honey."

"I have pre-prepared food and I have homework laid out at the dining table. So by my calculations we have until about 7:45 to ourselves."

"Aha so the bathrobe is a measure of efficiency, is it?" Troy murmured, his eyes lingering at where the silky material gaped a little, providing more than a glimpse at her breast.

Gabriella smiled coyly. "Maybe. But you know… if you wanted to work on your trig…"

As she spoke, she was toying with the tie of her robe, spinning it about like a lasso. All Troy wanted was for her to tug a little harder and for the silky material to fall open. He already felt himself beginning to perk up. He grabbed her by the arms, and pulled her toward him for a furious kiss.

"I think it can wait til 7:45."

* * *

Gabriella didn't want to go to Boston. It was a city that she loved, and she was looking forward to exploring it now that she was a bit older with a close friend by her side. But she didn't want to go. Friday at school was painful. Every time the bell rang, indicating it was time to move to the next class – it was one step closer to her being forced onto a plane and away from Troy.

"Gabriella, it's two days," Taylor said impatiently.

The girls were in calculus class, waiting for Mr Davis to arrive. Gabriella was sitting staring at the wall forlornly. Their lessons were now in the portable classrooms; with Troy's trig class just on the other side of the wall.

"It is not only two days. I am missing a basketball game tonight; and then rehearsals… and then if I had stayed home and my mom was away…" Gabriella trailed off.

Taylor snapped her fingers in front of Gabriella's face, breaking her from her reverie.

"This weekend isn't about being away from your boyfriend. It's about looking to the future. A future which you can't tell me you're not itching to move towards."

Gabriella simply sighed once more.

Troy and Chad walked their girlfriends out to the front of the school. Elena Montez was picking the girls up, stopping at Taylor's house to pick up her already packed suitcase, and then a preordered taxi was picking the threesome up from the Montez household to take them to the airport.

"I wish I could have driven you to the airport," Troy said, kissing Gabriella's hand softly.

"Don't be silly. You have your work out, and then a game to get ready for."

"I know. But I still wish I could. Might make your mom like me more."

"My mom loves you!"

"She love-D me. Past tense. Now she looks at me like I'm corrupting you or something."

Gabriella giggled. "You are."

…

Chad and Taylor were walking just paces ahead of Gabriella and Troy.

"You must be especially excited about tonight's game," Taylor said.

"Why especially tonight's?"

"First game this year having your lead up training in our gym? And a home game at that?"

"It would be better if you girls were gonna be there."

Taylor glanced at Chad. "Well I'll keep that in mind next week when you can't come to my debate on Wednesday afternoon because you're training," Taylor teased.

Chad smirked. "I'm sure you'll cope without me."

"Just as you will cope without me."

"But I don't want to cope without you," Chad admitted. "That's something?"

Taylor nodded, a slight smile on her face. "Yeah, guess it is."

Ten minutes later and Chad and Troy were standing at the edge of the parking lot, watching as the car drove away. Gabriella's window was down, her head looking back, waving. She blew Troy a kiss, which he caught and held at his heart. Chad observed the motion.

"Dude, that's sickening."

Troy didn't say anything, he just watched forlornly. "This is only a preview, you know?" he remarked.

"A preview?"

"Next year. They'll be going off, heading out on this big adventure, doing bigger and better things. Leaving me…" Troy trailed off.

"Leaving you with your own adventure, and with your own bigger and better things."

Troy glanced at his friend. "You think?"

"I know."

Despite the dozens of kids milling about the front of the school; the sounds of a couple in a screaming argument; laughter from some girls chasing each other around; people calling out to one another – the air around Troy and Chad was filled with silence.

"Come on. We have a game to get ready for."

* * *


	33. Chapter 32

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE: **Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

* * *

**Chapter 32**

"Did you know that seven presidents of the United States – John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Rutherford B. Hayes, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and George W. Bush – were graduates of Harvard?"

"Oh really?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes. And also, its faculty has produced more than 40 Nobel laureates."

As the girls ambled through the Harvard grounds, Taylor was flipping through the prospectus in her hands, reading aloud statistics and facts in sheer awe. Gabriella was more interested in the Harvard grounds that they were presently walking through. There was no doubt that they were absolutely stunning, with lush green gardens covered in the soft brown and red leaves of the fall. Then again, when an undergraduate student could anticipate paying over 40,000 dollars per year to study at the college – a beautiful campus was to be expected. Gabriella found it rather amusing that Taylor was so fixated upon the pamphlets she was clutching onto, given that it was the exact same information that was included on the Harvard Website which she knew was currently set as the default browser on Taylor's laptop.

"Students have access to extraordinary academic resources, including the world's largest university library… and, oh my God!" Taylor gasped. "There are more than two dozen buildings dedicated to scientific research! Two DOZEN!" Taylor sighed dreamily.

"Taylor?" Gabriella said, somewhat cautiously. "I know that we've come out here to check out Harvard and everything… and yes, this campus is absolutely amazing…"

"But?" Taylor supplied warily, sensing Gabriella's tone.

"But… well… don't you think that it's not healthy to have all your eggs in one basket, if you know what I mean?" Gabriella was trying to tactfully say that given Harvard's exclusivity, it would be awful to be so intent upon attending and then not be accepted.

"You sound like the guidance counsellor," Taylor sighed bitterly.

Gabriella glanced at her friend sympathetically. "When we talked about this a few weeks ago, you sounded like you were going to be a lot more open to lots of different opportunities."

Taylor nodded. "I'm not exactly closed to lots of different opportunities. You and I talking about it made it really sink in to me just how behind I am in this whole process. But it also made me think about just how much I want to study here, that I've wanted to study here, since, well, forever. So it's time I started working on that. I know that it's more competitive to get in, and then more competitive to get financial aid given how ridiculous the tuition fees are but…"

"I know, I know how much you want to go here. But I just think it's good to keep all the other options in mind. You never know what might happen," Gabriella said cautiously. "I'm personally really excited about going to look around the MIT campus this afternoon."

"Pppfffttt MIT. All they do is pull pranks and get caught cheating at Blackjack," Taylor scoffed.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "If you say so."

Gabriella's mom worked as a Human Resources Executive for a multinational corporation. In the past she had worked within the specialty of organisational change. Offices looking to implement new systems require organisational change consultants for the period of system implementation. Hence why Elena Montez was so frequently changing her job location. She had moved into the area of Training and Development, however she was still required to go away on business frequently, as she was in the process of facilitating training seminars in offices across the country.

The seminars would take place all day Saturday; and she would also frequently have some sort of business engagement on the Saturday night, such as a business dinner with colleagues. Gabriella had lived in Boston before, yes it was a few years ago, but she was vaguely familiar with the general lay out of the Greater Boston region, and knew enough about the subway and public transport system for Elena to feel okay leaving the girls to their own exploring. The first thing they had done was head to Cambridge.

"If I was excited about Harvard before, I'm even more excited about it now. That free tour was awesome. And now the information session which I'm sure will be just as incredible."

"The free tour was pretty cool, seeing the on campus accommodation and stuff," Gabriella agreed, punctuating her sentence with a yawn.

"You tired?" Taylor asked sympathetically.

"A little," Gabriella admitted. "But it's all good. I should give Troy a call during his break."

They arrived late the night before, she had wanted to call Troy but it was after midnight and when he had work early Saturday morning, she refrained.

Taylor glanced at her watch. "We've got the information session in twenty minutes."

Gabriella peered at the time. "Damn. Okay I'll have to call him later."

"I can't believe you're worried about calling Troy when we are here Gabriella, we are here, we are at Harvard. Don't you just feel the knowledge sinking into your pores? We are at a location where intelligence is not only appreciated, but it is expected, it is anticipated. A place where it is the norm to consider facts and information to be of an exciting nature. A setting where the facilities and resources at our disposal will maximise our learning potential. Where…"

"Taylor?" Gabriella said, cutting her off. "I get it."

"Sorry, I was getting a bit excited there."

* * *

Normally, Troy loved his job. He'd been lucky to be able to stay on at Lava Springs after summer. He'd been especially lucky to stay on at Lava Springs after summer in a continuation of his golf job. It wasn't exactly a difficult role, teaching kids golf. The only downside was the early start on a Saturday morning. However on this particular Saturday, Troy felt a little restless. Gabriella's flight to Boston had landed late the previous evening, and although she'd texted him to let him know she had arrived, he felt an urge to talk to her, just to say hi. Uncertain of what time Gabriella and Taylor would be starting their day of college exploration, Troy hadn't wanted to call before work in case they had slept in a little, given their late flight. The end of the first lesson couldn't come fast enough. Troy was tempted to release the kids early, however he was well aware that it was strictly against protocol primarily for duty of care and safety reasons – given that dismissing them before their parents were there to collect them would leave a bunch of elementary school age kids running around unsupervised.

It had only taken a few weeks for Troy to form a routine with his routine. He would finish the first lesson, head into the kitchen to place his lunch order, then go back out to set up for the next lesson. By the time he was finished with the set up, his lunch order would be ready. Then providing almost an hour to his own devices.

Troy retrieved his burger with swiss cheese and a side of fries; as well as a tall glass of ice cold Coca-Cola, and headed out to lounge by the pool. It was such an infrequent occurrence in Troy's world where he just had time to kick back and do absolutely nothing. He'd always made a point of not bringing homework or his script or anything productive with him to do at work. So his break was an hour he savoured, sampling free food and relaxing by the pool. He pulled down his sunglasses and nestled back into the cushy chair. He reached out and picked up the burger, holding it lovingly. He'd woken up a little late that morning and the result was skipping breakfast. Just as he had taken an enormous mouthful, a voice spoke.

"Hello."

Troy looked up, seeing Sharpay standing before him. He chewed – and chewed and chewed and chewed – and finally was able to swallow. The few moments of inability to speak allowed him to process the initial surprise of seeing Sharpay there – although he wasn't sure why it surprised her. In fact, it should have surprised him that he hadn't seen her there any other weekend.

"Hey," Troy said. "Sorry bout that."

"Bite off more than you could chew?" Sharpay remarked.

"Something like that. What brings you here?" Troy said cautiously.

"I'm getting a facial," she replied simply.

"Umm… cool. I guess. Not my thing," Troy responded, trying to be friendly.

Sharpay smiled brightly. "Just one of the perks of being the owner's daughter."

"Yeah, I bet," Troy said, popping a few fries into his mouth.

"I heard you played a great game last night."

Sharpay surprised herself when the comment came out of her mouth. She'd seen Troy and in a sudden impulsive whim, gone over to talk to him. The plan had been to just say hi and make her presence known, but suddenly, she found herself engaging in conversation. Real conversation. Something that she did so infrequently. And yet again, it was happening with Troy Bolton. And if there was a way to get Troy to continue a conversation willingly, it was to put forth open ended questions which invited for basketball related commentary.

Troy shrugged. "I was happy with my game but I think as a team we could have done better."

"You won, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's the important thing, is it not?"

"We were playing less competitive components, if we'd been playing almost any other side, we would have lost. Some of the guys… weren't all there," Troy said tactfully.

Sharpay may not have been within the Wildcat group, but she wasn't immune to school gossip. In fact, she was an integral cog within the grapevine on many of an occasion. So she knew exactly what Troy was inferring.

"How is Zeke?" she found herself asking.

Troy was surprised at the question, and couldn't help but momentarily reflect upon the irony of Sharpay enquiring about Zeke's well being. "He's doing okay. Monica was conveniently ill last night. Paula said that Monica was worried that her presence would put him off his game. We're having a bit of a boys night tonight so hopefully we can cheer him up a bit."

"Well, I hope you have a good night," Sharpay said, flashing him a dazzling smile. "Anyway, I have my appointment. Enjoy your lunch. And have fun with your second class."

"Thanks."

She strutted off towards the spa area. Troy watched after her, shaking his head in bewilderment.

"I think it was easier when she was openly flirting," he muttered out loud, as he shook his head. He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and hit speed dial 1.

"_Hi, this is Gabriella, I can't take your call at the moment but leave a message and I'll get back to you… BEEEEEP!"_

"Hey it's Troy, just wanted to say hi. I guess you're in that information session thing or something. I'm just on my break at work, man it feels like today is going forever. I'm heading to Kelsi's after work for my guitar lesson. I'll try to catch you later on. Love you, bye."

* * *

Taylor had been reluctant to leave Harvard after the information session, however knowing that she was lucky to be along for the weekend's adventure at all, she wasn't going to protest Gabriella's insistence that they stick to the schedule and head straight to the MIT Cambridge campus.

From the moment that they stepped onto campus grounds, Gabriella felt something pulling her in. Something larger than life in itself. She gazed around at the buildings and the footpaths and the students lounging about with laptops and felt completely mesmerised.

"Wow," Gabriella breathed, in complete awe. "This is amazing."

"Yeah it's nice," Taylor said, non-committedly. "I suppose."

Gabriella hardly registered Taylor's less than excitement first impression.

"I've been here before but now it's… it's quite different," she said, gazing about at the buildings. "I'm looking around with a purpose. Thinking… thinking that I could be here this time next year."

"You prefer this to Harvard?" Taylor asked incredulously.

Gabriella shrugged. "I prefer the science curriculum at a lot of universities in comparison to Harvard. Harvard's post graduate medicine looks amazing but for undergraduate, I personally think they excel in other areas, humanties, law, so forth."

"I just get this feeling from MIT that it's… I don't know… a fake college. You know?"

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Fake?"

"Yes. Look at the accommodation buildings," Taylor said, pointing to one of them in the catalogue. "All modern and… hip."

"It's amazing. Modern is good. Modern means contemporary and innovative and entrepreneurial and… and stuff."

"Did I have this dreamy look on my face at Harvard like the one you have now?" Taylor teased.

Gabriella shrugged. "I haven't made any decisions. And really, it's not my decision to make. It's the admissions staff, the scholarship people…"

"Oh please. You and I both know that you will get accepted wherever you want to go," Taylor said knowingly.

Gabriella sighed. She had more or less been told that same thing from the school guidance counsellor. "Getting accepted is one thing. Being able to afford to attend is another. My mom earns a lot of money, and realistically I know that I will be ruled out from a lot of financial aid packages. But I don't want to do this depending on her, I would rather do it myself."

"Did your… Did your dad leave you anything?" Taylor asked, somewhat hesitantly.

Gabriella nodded. "I don't know what exactly yet. I find out on my 18th birthday. But that doesn't matter either. I would rather use his money towards whenever I buy a car or want to buy a house or something like that. Something… tangible."

"Give me your short list," Taylor said bluntly.

Gabriella stopped in her tracks, and stared at Taylor. "Pardon?"

Taylor put a hand on her hip. "You keep pretending that you haven't thought about it much. Which I also know isn't true. I know you set up a meeting with the careers guidance office last week, just to get ahead of everyone else with our compulsory meetings this week. I saw you come out with stacks of paperwork and printouts. If you didn't have a shortlist before that, surely you've gone over it now. I know you. I don't care that you and Troy have decided to not talk about it, you have your reasons for that. However surely that doesn't preclude you and I from talking about it. And… you can't tell me that a part of you isn't dying to discuss it."

Gabriella sighed, and pointed towards a bench for the girls to sit down at.

"Berkley, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale," Gabriella recited, very purposely in alphabetical order. She wasn't trying to be misleading, it was because her own outlook on them was purely alphabetical, with no direct preference toward any of her short list as yet.

"Sounds about right," Taylor agreed, pleased with her friends selection. "Except for me, put Princeton in rather than Columbia, and UCLA instead of Berkley."

"You're right. I have thought about it. I've done more than think about it. Mainly this last week, I got right into research mode," Gabriella confessed. "Like… looking into all the stuff with financial aid and scholarships. And I was also looking into the NCAA and…"

"The NCAA?" Taylor repeated. "Why are you researching the National Collegiate Athletics Association?"

"Did you know that there are different levels of competition for college athletics? Like that only some universities enter into Division I and…"

Taylor sighed. "If you and Troy have agreed to not talk about this stuff, then why are you researching it for him?"

Gabriella paused. This was a question she had asked herself. When she'd been in crazy college research mode, it had seemed so natural to follow the links to information pertaining exclusively to Troy's future. Then she'd taken a moment to sit back and reflect upon exactly what she was doing, and more importantly, why she was doing it.

"Because when we do talk about it eventually, it wouldn't surprise me if he has been in denial mode and just not looked at anything. And Troy is better than the U of A, he is. There are better schools out there, especially if he wants to take his basketball to the next level. I don't care if his dad is filling his brain with all this garbage about scholarships being the most important factor. They aren't. If leaving Albuquerque means Troy will have a better shot at actually fulfilling his dreams, a student loan is going to be nothing once he is in the NBA."

"At least Troy knows what he wants to do," Taylor said. "I don't think Chad has a clue."

"I got the impression over summer that he was really serious about his baseball?"

"I don't know if Chad is really serious about anything," Taylor remarked, trying to sound light but the true concern within her tone shining through.

"Oh come on, give him some credit. Between being best friends with Troy 'I need a scholarship' Bolton and dating you, I think even Chad would be highly aware of the whole college pressure thing."

"Hmm maybe. Who knows?" Taylor sighed. "Come on, let's go check out the library."

* * *

After what felt like the longest shift in the history of mankind and the workforce, Troy headed straight to Kelsi's house for their prearranged music rehearsal. The advantage to being so restless at work had been a speedy clean up. Combined with a good traffic run between Lava Springs and Kelsi's house, he arrived almost ten minutes earlier than the pre arranged time.

The door was answered by Kelsi's younger brother.

"Hey man, I'm here to hang with your sister," Troy said cheerfully.

Tim raised his eyebrow. "I thought Kelsi was going out with that other guy. The goofy looking one. James or… something."

Troy coughed. "Uh… I think you're referring to Jason. Me and Kelsi are just friends. She's teaching me guitar."

"Oh."

Tim turned around to face the stairwell. "KELSI! SOME GUY IS HERE!"

"LET HIM IN, DOOFUS!" Kelsi's exasperated cry came back down.

Tim stood back, and gestured toward the living area. "You can wait there."

Kelsi came bounding down the stairs almost straight away, as Troy glanced around in the living room a little awkwardly.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. Troy spun around, and raised his eyebrows, seeing Kelsi with about a dozen articles of clothing slung over her arm. "You're early!"

"Sorry," Troy apologised. "I finished work a little early and it didn't even occur to me that I should call ahead and check if it was cool that I came early. You can finish doing… whatever you're doing," Troy said, glancing at the clothing.

"No it's fine. I was just… umm…" Kelsi was trying to think of a valid excuse. "Okay I was trying on outfits."

"You could have just said you were doing laundry and I wouldn't have given it much thought," Troy teased.

Kelsi blushed slightly. "Gabriella insisted that I send her a picture text with my selection of outfit. I really don't care whether she approves but I figured I can humour her and send the photos through."

"Oh, the movie afternoon tomorrow," Troy said with a knowing smirk.

"Uh huh. Did he uh… did he mention it to you?" Kelsi asked hopefully, with an attempt at sounding casual.

"Briefly is my official answer. More than briefly is the unofficial answer that we will keep between you and I, in the interest of me not getting my ass kicked for breaking the guy code," Troy replied.

For Troy, the bright smile on Kelsi's face was worth the slight betrayal of his friends trust.

"Oh?" she said, trying to sound casual. "Anyway I'll just get changed and be back with you. If you want a drink or anything, go for it."

"I'm right, take your time."

"Won't be long."

Kelsi had already brought down her guitar and score and left it near the piano. Troy went over to tentatively pick up the instrument, and then he sat down on the couch and began to strum away.

"You're getting good," Kelsi complimented, as she reentered the room, free of a pile of clothing as an accessory.

Troy paused his playing, currently at the stage of learning where playing and talking at the same time was more or less impossible. "I surprise myself sometimes," he confessed. "It helped when you tuned my dad's guitar. I play for a bit most nights. But I still only know A to G chords."

"Mike isn't supposed to be brilliant at guitar anyway. So you're going to be fine to play well enough to be Mike. You're almost there already."

"I think that's meant to be a compliment, saying that I am almost ready to depict a bad guitar player," Troy teased.

"That's not how I meant it," Kelsi said, and slapped Troy's arm lightly.

"Yeah yeah," Troy shot back jovially, throwing her a cheeky grin.

"No really Troy, I think that you have a knack for this. If all you wanna do is learn enough to be able to do the scene in Once Upon A Time then there's not much left to learn at all. But if you want to keep learning… you could become really good at this. Like, really really good."

"So you mean, once I'm too old to play in the NBA, I could think about a career as a rock and roll star," Troy joked.

"Maybe," Kelsi shrugged, with a glint in her eye.

Troy rolled his eyes. "Well seeing as I have no burgeoning rock and roll plans at the moment, but there is a show going on in a few weeks, how about to stick to playing 'well enough' and worry about getting all the other songs right first. I'm getting worried about it a bit, you know Gabriella has memorised like every line and every lyric?"

Kelsi rolled her eyes. "Gabriella is a freak, she has a photographic memory. Don't worry about her, let's concentrate on you."

* * *

"Okay, backs nice and straight, long lines… beautiful Anna, lovely turn out… make sure your heels are touching, Amy…"

Studio A at the Albuquerque Dance Academy was currently filled with fourteen six to eight year old girls and one seven year old boy lined up along the barre. At the head of the class stood Ryan Evans, leading his pupils in their set of plies, being demonstrated in each of the ballet positions. Even at such a young age, it was evident who the stars of the future were going to be.

It was a beginner's class, only the third lesson in the course. Ryan felt privileged to have been asked by his dance school to instruct the class. Even with his responsibilities for the student council and the musical and pesky school work, there was no way he would turn down the opportunity. In many ways, this beginner's class was more important than the next step up. These first ten lessons were when basic techniques would be forged. If taught ineffectively, a dancer may have difficulty breaking out of incorrect habits.

Meanwhile, just down the corridor, Sharpay had arrived early for the contemporary duet lesson she and Ryan had scheduled with the dance school teacher, in preparation for an upcoming regional dance contest. Their class was normally held earlier in the morning, however Martina had rescheduled to a later time just for the week. Normally, Sharpay would come in early and go in early to conduct a pre warm up warm up. However now that it was the middle of the afternoon, all of the studios had classes running. She'd ducked to the bathroom quickly, but it was filled with several little girls who had a tap class next. The tip taps of their feet on the tiled bathroom floor was annoying Sharpay to no end. She found herself waiting outside Studio A, where she and Ryan were meeting with Martina in ten minutes. It was also where Ryan was currently teaching the Beginners Introduction to Ballet class. Sharpay peered in through the door, observing out of interest.

The class finished their plie set and moved back into the centre of the room. As she peered through the class window, Ryan caught her eye and smiled, motioning with his fingers for her to come on. Sharpay's eyes widened, but Ryan's motion was insistent. The kids in the class turned around, looking expectantly at the door way. Well, now she simply HAD to make an entrance. She opened the door, and flashed a dazzling smile at the children.

"Look everyone, it's Sharpay!" Ryan said excitedly.

"Hi Sharpay!" the voices rang out in sing song.

Sharpay stood gaping at them for a moment, bewildered at their response. They were looking at her like she was some kind of celebrity. She commanded this sort of attention at school and within her own performance classes. But these little girls, she'd never even seen them before. But she quickly covered her surprise, and waved hello.

"Okay, before we finish up for today, who wants to show Sharpay the Arabesque par terre we learnt earlier?" Ryan asked.

The studio was filled with little hands being shot into the air, waving about madly.

"Okay, how about you all do the position together," Ryan suggested, and then began to count them in.

Joel, the little boy, immediately swept into the position, with incredible lines and poise and balance. A few of the girls were wobbling all over the place, arms flopping about. One girl fell over, not able to hold the pose. Another girl looked at Ryan blankly, before glancing at her classmates and realising what position he meant.

Ryan quickly finished up the class, reminding them to practice the ballet positions every day. He was met with the "Thank you Mis-ter Ry-an" sing song that never failed to amuse him.

"Sharpie!" a voice rang out.

Ryan looked up, seeing little Katie running up to his sister. Sharpay looked a little bowled over at the girl threw her arms around Sharpay's waist. Tentatively, Sharpay patted the little girls back.

"Did you see my Arabeks?" the little girl asked.

"I did, and I thought it was fabulous."

"Why are you here?"

"Mr Evans and I have a lesson with Miss Martina. We are learning a dance, a duo, to enter into the advanced competition in Santa Fe next month."

"Wow!"

"My mommy is waiting," Katie said, pointing to a woman standing at the doorway. "Bye Sharpie!"

Sharpay watched in bewilderment as the little girl waved as she ran away, before going over to where Ryan was pulling on his jazz pants over his ballet shorts.

"How do they know me?" Sharpay asked her brother quietly, her tone indicating her shock.

"Well, to start with, all the photos you had the school put up in the reception area of you from all of our competitions you've entered," Ryan pointed out, with a wry smile. "And plus, a lot of them saw you at last months demonstration show. Some of these girls worship you. They want to dance 'just like Sharpay'."

Sharpay preened. "Well of course they do. I am an inspiration to these children. Given that I took this same class when I was only four years of age."

"Yes. I was there too, remember?" Ryan pointed out.

"Well… I don't really remember. But the photos indicate that you were there."

Ryan grinned. "How was your facial?"

"Fabulous, as usual. Fulton did something right hiring Mindy."

Ryan sat down on the bench at the front, taking off his ballet

"Hey, have you started working on your algebra assignment?" Ryan asked.

Sharpay winced. "No," she admitted. "I've been busy. If daddy had agreed to let us attend a performing arts school for high school, we wouldn't have to worry about all this stupid math and science."

"Wanna work on it tonight?" Ryan suggested.

"Oh, aren't you going to Troy's?" Sharpay asked, genuinely surprised.

"Huh?"

"They're having some boys' night or something, so Troy told me when I saw him this morning."

The look of dejection on Ryan's face was not even lost on Sharpay. He picked himself up quickly, clearing his throat.

"Like I would fit in at one of their little boys' nights. They probably sit around talking about basketball and watching porn and drinking beer."

Sharpay gave him a small smile. "Probably."

* * *

Chad, Jason and Troy had all decided that the boys' night absolutely must go ahead. Regardless of what homework needed to be done, regardless of what family commitments there were. Zeke had spent almost the whole week walking around like a zombie. And certainly they knew that one fun night hanging out with friends wasn't going to be a solution – but it was a start.

They had also made a very conscious decision to not talk about their girlfriends. Well, Jason and Chad had made the decision and informed Troy of the rule. There was a part of both Jason and Chad that wanted the rule for self serving purposes. Jason didn't want to talk about Kelsi. Full stop. He knew that talking about Kelsi would only lead to the rest of them putting pressure on him and making him feel nervous. So it was ideal to have an excuse to not discuss what was going on. As for Chad, he was less than inclined to discuss the current shortcomings of his relationship with Taylor. And there was something fake and wrong about talking about her as though everything was cool. And so – with the proclamation that it was for Zeke's benefit – girlfriend talk was banned. For Troy, this was less than ideal, given that his entire world seemed to revolve around Gabriella. And also given that finally, they could have a conversation about sex and he could contribute something to the discussion. But no, Saturday night was about video games and basketball and copious amounts of junk food. Jason had even brought along a porn movie – whether it was to be brought out was questionable.

However after mucking around in the backyard with a basketball and retreating into the lounge room, Troy had proceeded to mope. It hit him that it was almost dinner time and he hadn't heard from Gabriella since his break. After talking with Sharpay, he had messaged Gabriella. She had texted him after he had left her the voicemail, just with a brief few words confirming that she was busy. He'd sent a couple of other texts throughout the afternoon, without any response. And now, he was edgy. He checked his cell phone every five minutes or so, just in case he hadn't heard the text message tone.

They were sitting around in the living area, sprawled out with pizza and soft drink, flicking through and arguing over what movie to put on. Well, Jason and Chad were arguing. Zeke was sitting looking rather docile. Troy was more focused on contemplating whether to send another text message.

Eventually, it was Zeke who said something to Troy, his passive mood being pushed aside in a sudden moment of annoyance.

"Go and call her," Zeke said impatiently.

Troy looked up at him and coughed, playing dumb. "Call who?"

Zeke rolled his eyes. "Cut the bullshit, man. You know what I'm talking about."

"Nah man, it's fine. We're having a boys weekend, remember? No girls allowed."

Zeke sighed. "I know what you're all doing. I can't believe you haven't burst Bolton, not talking about her once. Not even when I asked you about the musical did you mention her. But Gabriella might as well be here the way you're moping about. Just call her and you'll feel better and then we can actually have some fun."

Troy didn't need to be told twice. He bolted upstairs to his room, wanting at least a little privacy. He quickly dialled her number. After three rings, he let out an impatient sigh. He knew his girlfriends habits relatively well. If she didn't answer the phone after three rings, it was likely she wasn't going to answer at all.

"_Hi, this is Gabriella, I can't take your call at the moment but leave a message and I'll get back to you… BEEEEEP!"_

"Hey Gabriella it's me, just calling to say hi and see how everything went today. The guys are just hanging at my place tonight so you can call back any time you get the chance. Love you."

Troy sighed, flipped his phone shut and headed back downstairs.

"You feel better now?" Jason asked.

"No," Troy complained. "She didn't answer."

"She's probably out fucking some random guy," Zeke said darkly under his breath.

Troy chose to ignore Zeke's remark, especially given it was thanks to him that he had attempted to call in the first place. "Anyway, what movie did we decide on?"

* * *

As suspected, Elena wound up making dinner plans with a business colleague; leaving Taylor and Gabriella to their own devices on Saturday night. Neither of the girls had a lot of money, there were no films playing at the cinema that interested them, and being underage, there wasn't a whole lot to do. Nevertheless, they felt the need to at least do something for a little while, other than hang around the hotel room. So they jumped on the red line and headed to the Quincy Bay area for a wander.

"I love looking out at the ocean," Gabriella said dreamily, taking in a deep breath.

"It is beautiful. You could hardly be further away from the ocean than Albuquerque."

"Albuquerque is beautiful in its own way. The sunsets are incredible."

"But no ocean."

Gabriella was still staring out dreamily. "When I look out there… I'm always just transfixed by the line… the line where the sky meets the ocean. It's like… it's so easy to just look out there and think that's all there is."

"That the world is flat and that's the end," Taylor mused.

"Exactly. But… but it keeps going. Keep going in that direction and we'll hit Portugal. From there it's a skip and a hop to Spain where I know I have some distant relatives."

Taylor studied her friend. "Think you'll get there one day?"

"It's funny… sometimes when I sit and think about the future… I could see it being so… so easy."

"White picket fence with Troy and the 2.5 kids?"

Gabriella's lack of response was indicative of her agreement with the statement. She sighed. "Yesterday I felt like leaving Troy for two days would be the end of the world."

"And now?"

"Now… it feels like I was being a bit silly."

"Just a tad."

"I never thought I would be a white picket fence kind of girl. I always wanted my mom to push me through high school at an accelerated rate, I wanted to go to college as soon as possible. I always thought it was because I wanted to be doing more complicated stuff, because I was just so motivated and had a thirst to learn. Now I think it was because I wanted to run from the chaos that is high school. I'm so glad she made me go through at a normal rate because I realise there's more to life. There's you and all of our friends… and yes… there's Troy. Who… who I am scarily finding myself depending upon him a little. I think about our future together. I can envisage the man that he is becoming, I can see him being the kind of person who I could be with… forever. I can see us going to colleges in the same vicinity, moving in together, going through the motions that lead to the white picket fence."

"But?" Taylor prompted.

Gabriella gazed out at the ocean. "There's a whole world out there. A world of people and opportunities and experiences. Experiences which… which I don't know if Troy's life path will intersect with. He's going to be drafted into the NBA and live this crazy lifestyle of a high profile athlete. He…" Gabriella trailed off. "I just… I just don't know what's going to happen."

"We're seventeen. It's hard enough making social plans for next weekend, let alone trying to sort out how the rest of our lives are going to pan out."

"You've got it all sorted. You've got your five year plan."

Taylor smiled ruefully. "My five year plan consists of Harvard. Beyond that… I don't know. I don't know if Chad and I will be dating next month, let alone next year and into college. I can't control where he is going to wind up, what decisions he is going to make in his life. All I can do is concentrate on what I know I want. I know I want to study at Harvard. I'll do whatever I can to make that happen. Everything else… I figure if it's meant to fall into place around that, it will."

Gabriella studied her friend carefully. "I hope so."

* * *


	34. Chapter 33

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **A salute to Martin (_emptrajan)_ and Ayen (_zvkg-ai) _for being totally fabulous with their previewing my work. And also I just want to acknowledge the assistance that _laxgirl14 _has provided over the last couple of days, she's been absolutely instrumental in defining and shaping the general plot of Troy and his college aspirations, providing me with information and advice that is just so incredibly appreciated. :-)

* * *

**Chapter 33**

Gabriella was itching to get off the plane. They had been delayed in Dallas, where they had laid over, and it felt like they'd been on a plane all night. Now that they'd landed, it seemed like it was literally taking forever. How long can it take to open the door from the plane to the tunnel? The minute the seatbelt sign went off, Gabriella was standing and retrieving their luggage from the overheard storage compartments. She was grateful that they had been able to take enough luggage for the weekend in their cabin baggage; because the last thing Gabriella felt like doing was standing around in the terminal waiting for their bags. She was tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for the aisles to begin to empty to allow their row to step out.

"You late for something Gabi?" Ms Montez asked, rather amused.

"No, I just want to get off this plane. I have cabin fever or something."

They were only exiting through the forward door and of course, the three women were seated towards the back of the plane. After what felt like a half hour of waiting, they were able to move into the aisles and move at a snails pace towards the front door. There was seemingly a convention of senior citizens who had arrived in Albuquerque that flight, who were walking through the tunnel three abreast. Finally they emerged from the tunnel, where a smattering of families and friends were still awaiting their loved ones from the plane; and others who had been reunited were gathered and talking excitedly. Gabriella immediately fished her cell phone out of her handbag.

"Oh, you just wanted to let Troy know you'd landed," Taylor teased, suddenly understanding what the hurry had been about.

"Well, they said we were refuelling and that we couldn't turn our phones back on yet," Gabriella said with a blush. "I feel bad, I didn't even get to return any of his calls since we were so busy."

"You should feel bad."

Gabriella's head snapped up, her lips forming into a bright smile. She'd been so focused upon staring down at her cell phone and navigating to the text message menu that she hadn't been watching where she was going. And here she was, inadvertently about to walk straight past the very boy she wanted to contact. He was standing with his arms folded, watching her with an amused expression upon his face.

"Troy!" Gabriella squealed.

Troy's lips broke into a smile, overcome with relief and joy at seeing the delight on her face. Gabriella's mini suitcase crashed to the floor, as she threw her arms around his neck in a tight embrace.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, her face muffled into his shoulder. "It's almost midnight. Your parents are going to kill you."

Troy pulled apart from her reluctantly. "My parents know very well that I am here since I drove mom's car. Hi Ms Montez," Troy greeted Gabriella's mother.

"Hello Troy, hope the delay wasn't too annoying."

"No, it was fine, I got Taylor's text and checked online for the updated flight information."

"You _knew_ he was coming?" Gabriella demanded, looking from her mother to Taylor and back to her mother accusingly.

Elena smiled innocently. "Maybe."

"Here, let me get that for you," Troy offered, holding out his hand for Elena's suitcase.

Taylor couldn't hold back a slight snort at Troy's gesture.

"Taylor," Troy greeted her with a nod. "Do you find something amusing?"

"Do you help old ladies cross the street as well?" Taylor queried.

"Must have been my two years as a cub scout," Troy said.

"You were a cub scout?" Taylor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Me and Chad were."

"I'm so sorry that I didn't get to call you," Gabriella exclaimed, feeling genuinely apologetic. "We were just so incredibly busy and…"

"It's okay," Troy insisted. "Really. It wasn't like you went MIA, you texted me a few times. It's all good."

Gabriella smiled. "I missed you," she said softly.

Troy allowed himself to fall victim to Gabriella's gaze, to stare back into her eyes with equal love and adoration. "I missed you too." Suddenly Troy was very aware of the display that was being put on for both Taylor and Elena. "Do you have any checked baggage?" he asked them, tearing his eyes away from Gabriella's.

"No, just our cabin baggage," Elena replied.

"Excellent. Then to the parking lot I guess. Anyone need the bathroom?" Troy looked pointedly at Gabriella.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she demanded.

"No reason," Troy said innocently.

"It was _one time_ that I made you pull over at the Burger King so I could use the bathroom. _One time_ Troy."

"One time about five minutes after we'd left somewhere with a bathroom," Troy teased.

Gabriella was about to retort, but then she stopped. "Could you hold this?" she asked, holding out the handle of her suitcase.

"Why?" he teased.

"Because I am going to use the bathroom," she mumbled.

* * *

Chad's weekend had been hectic. He had a shift at the grocery store early Saturday morning. He'd never really wanted a part time job permanently, it was just a job to raise a bit more cash so he could buy his car. But now there were expenses associated with maintaining the car – and a second person to purchase meals and tickets for, when he and Taylor actually went and did something. After his shift at the grocery store he'd rushed to pick up his sister from her tap dancing class, to drop her off at a friends house. Then it was to the park where he had organised a preseason baseball game with some of the guys from East High. After the park, he headed back to pick up Jayme; and then to Troy's place for the boys night with Jason and Zeke. Sunday had consisted of grocery shopping, and then doing laundry and household chores whilst studying. Chad was beginning to learn the true art of multitasking; carrying a book in one hand as he pushed the vacuum cleaner with the other hand.

All in all, it had been such a hectic weekend that he had barely had time to contemplate missing Taylor. But now, as he was driving towards her house to pick her up before school – he realised that he really, really wanted to see her.

Normally he would park at the side of the road and Taylor would appear at the front door immediately; no need to go ring the doorbell. On this particular Monday, he found himself leaping from the car and sprinting up the driveway, just so he could meet her half way. There she was; folder under her left arm, her right hand grasping to the handle of her schoolbag on wheels, a deep purple coloured scarf holding her hair back.

"Hey!" she exclaimed.

The first few times he had picked her up, he'd made the effort to get out of the car and open the door for her. Since then, the novelty had worn off and he would stay inside as she headed down to the curb. So she was surprised to see Chad heading up the driveway.

In two long strides, Chad closed the gap between them and rested his hand on Taylor's hip. He pulled her into him, capturing her lips with his, his tongue drawing a soft line along her bottom lip, seeking permission to enter. Any other morning, Taylor would have pushed him away with a joke, demanding that displays of public affection were inappropriate within broad daylight where her mother – who was still inside – and any spying neighbour could catch a glimpse. However there was an urgency in Chad's kisses that pushed these thoughts out of Taylor mind. Instead, she let go of her bag – hearing a bang as it toppled to the pavement – to free a hand to place on the back of his neck, not only granting him the access for their tongues to duel, but kissing back with a fervour that surprised Taylor before 8 in the morning. Reluctantly, he pulled away from her.

"Good morning," Chad said, somewhat huskily.

"Good morning to you too," Taylor replied, somewhat breathless.

Chad bent down to pick up her bag, and carried it towards the car. "How was Boston? Sorry I didn't get the chance to call you, things were crazy over the weekend."

"It was amazing Chad, really amazing. And it's okay that you didn't call, I probably wouldn't have had time to talk to you anyway. To give you an idea of how busy Gabriella and I were, she didn't even have time to call Troy."

Chad chuckled. "Woah, did you even have time to breathe?"

"Barely," she replied.

Chad opened the passenger door and set her bag onto the floor. Taylor stepped inside, and Chad closed the door behind her.

"So it was good?" he asked. He slid into the driver's seat and pulled down his sunglasses.

"Have you ever been somewhere and just… and just known that it was where you were meant to be?" Taylor asked.

"Are you referring to Harvard, or the city as a whole?"

"Harvard," she confirmed. "I've always wanted to go there. Now… now I _have_ to go there."

"I see."

"I got you some information brochures," Taylor said cautiously.

Chad snorted. "From Harvard? Taylor, get real."

"From Boston University. We went there yesterday morning. Actually went wandering around the athletics area. They have a really fantastic baseball program you know – well, with the Red Sox it's not a surprise that they would."

"Baseball?"

"Well they have basketball too but… I thought from the college scouts that you were talking to during baseball season last year, that you were leaning towards college baseball?"

Chad sighed. "To be honest with you, I don't have a clue what I want to do next year."

"Oh." Taylor couldn't hide her slight disappointment.

"I appreciate you getting me the information. Someone has to kick me into gear," Chad admitted.

Taylor smiled, happier with this response. "You're welcome."

"And we've got those meetings with the guidance people this week so that should be good for me."

Each and every senior at East High had been allocated an appointment time with a member of the careers counselling staff at the school. Registration for the upcoming SATs was due by the end of the week, and it was approaching the time of year when applications for some early college acceptances were already due.

"It should," Taylor agreed.

"I really missed you," Chad blurted out. "I didn't realise I did til just then when I was driving to your house. I just... Really wanted to see you."

"I got that impression," Taylor teased.

"You love it. Anyway, I've decided that we're going on a date this weekend. A real date. You and me. No annoying friends distracting us. Not hanging at one of our houses. No textbooks looming in the background."

"What if I'm not available?" Taylor asked, deadpan.

"You will make yourself available," Chad said firmly.

"I suppose that can be arranged," Taylor said, pretending to be put out – but was secretly excited by his determination.

* * *

Meanwhile at East High, Mrs Nielson had just pulled up outside the front of the school where Kelsi hopped out of the car. She was at school a little early, a fairly common occurrence for Kelsi.

"And we have Kelsi Nielson, East High's very own musical composer, arriving for another day hard at work."

Kelsi looked up sharply, a slight smile forming on her face. Jason was leaning up against a tree, camcorder in hand. She then shielded her face, ducking behind the books she was clutching onto.

"Jason!" she exclaimed.

"So Kelsi, looking forward to another week here at East High?" Jason enquired. "Any exciting events happening throughout the week?"

Kelsi merely continued to hold the book in front of her face, and remained silent. Jason laughed, and switched off the camcorder.

"I turned it off. You can check if you want."

Kelsi dubiously came out from behind the book, and checked for the red light. It was indeed off.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I told you about our next film project, didn't I?"

"The interview thing?"

"Yeah. I decided last night that I'm gonna do a series of interviews about the musical. I'll get Troy and Gabriella and Ryan. And you, if you will come out from behind the book. And Darbus I guess. And then I was thinking that maybe I could talk to the IT geeks and get it put up on the school website, you know, advertising for the show."

Kelsi's face lit up, a wide smile forming. "That would be so good! Ms Darbus would be so excited, free promotions!"

"Well you know, it sounds like your show is gonna be good. Everyone should know about that."

"It's not really _my_ show," Kelsi said bashfully.

"You wrote it, didn't you?"

"Well… yeah."

"So it's your show."

Kelsi shrugged. "I guess."

The two traversed over to the fountain, taking seats along the edge as they waited for the rest of their friends to arrive.

"So yesterday was awesome," Jason said enthusiastically. "I can't believe I've found someone who likes horror movies as much as me. And I never would have picked it to be you!"

Kelsi giggled. "There's a lot about me you'd be surprised about, Jason."

Jason raised an eyebrow, and shuffled slightly closer. "Oh? Really? Such as?"

"Hey guys!" Taylor called out cheerily.

Jason mentally kicked Taylor and Chad at that point for interrupting his private time with Kelsi. Then again, they were hanging out in the morning meeting area so it was to be expected that someone would arrive sooner or later.

"Hey!" Kelsi called out excitedly. "How was Boston?"

"Absolutely brilliant!" Taylor declared.

Chad gave Jason a pointed look, his head jerking at Kelsi slightly. It was his way of silently enquiring about how the movie afternoon the previous day had gone. However Jason wasn't one to pick up on subtleties, his response being a puzzled look on his face. Chad merely rolled his eyes.

"Have a good weekend Kelsi?" Chad asked with a smirk.

Kelsi on the other hand wasn't oblivious to Chad's innuendo, and was not willing to respond to the blatant attempt to make them feel uncomfortable. "I did thank you Chad, what about you?"

"Fine, thank you. Not as exciting as everyone else's I have no doubt."

"Hey guys," Ryan's familiar voice called out to the group.

"Evans, sup man," Chad said, greeting Ryan.

"Did you come with Sharpay today?" Kelsi asked.

"No, we hardly ever come together anymore, why?"

"I wanted to arrange a time to meet with her to work on her solo again."

"She left before me today so she is probably already here," Ryan said.

Gradually the Wildcats gathered out the front; Troy and Gabriella arriving shortly hand in hand, the picture of the perfect couple; Martha arrived not long after them. Just feet away a cheerleader crowd was gathering; a couple of the girls were talking with the guys about the upcoming game; and Paula discussing the next pep rally with Ryan and Gabriella.

And then the final member of the core Wildcat crew arrived. A loud thumping bass noise emanated from the parking lot, the sound of tyres screeching as the car came to a stop. Everyone within ear shot looked up, meaning everyone hanging out the front of the school.

"Is that…" Jason said out loud.

"Zeke!" Troy exclaimed in surprise.

Zeke was sitting in the drivers seat of a red 1983 Ford Mustang convertible. His left arm was resting out of the window. Donning a pair of Ray Ban aviator style sunglasses and a leather jacket, Zeke had the attention of every single person who was watching as he pulled into a park and got out of his car, and proceeded to pull the top up. Chad, Jason and Troy were quick to abandon the group, and head over to stare in awe.

"Where did this come from?" Jason asked.

"I bought it."

"You bought wheels? How did you afford this?" Chad exclaimed.

"It was my grandpas. It just sits in his garage doing nothing. It was a steal."

"Could have mentioned it to us on Saturday," Troy remarked.

"It all went down yesterday afternoon."

Zeke locked up the car and the guys headed back up towards the fountain. Liana emerged from the cheerleader crowd, coming down to meet them.

"Hey Zeke, you're looking good today," Liana's flirtatious voice rang out. She cut past Troy to slip in beside Zeke, and ran her finger up his cheek. "Love the sunglasses."

"Thanks Lee," Zeke said casually. "Have a good weekend?"

"Yeah, not bad at all. I went to a college frat party. Joel from last year's team invited me."

Zeke looked ahead, noting Gabriella, Ryan and the others hanging about by the fountain – and just feet away from them, a group of cheerleaders. Monica was among them, arms folded across her chest, eyes narrowed watching him talk to Liana.

"Frat party hey?" he asked, leaning down a little closer to her.

"Ever been to one?"

"Last year me and the boys hit one up."

"You should come with me some time."

Zeke looked up, making eye contact with Monica for a moment. "Maybe, we'll see."

* * *

"Oh! And you should have seen the library! It was amazing!" Taylor gushed.

By the time that lunch rolled around, everyone who hadn't been with Taylor and Gabriella over the weekend felt as though they had been there.

"It sounds like it was amazing," Martha said, very patiently.

It was Martha's own doing, baring the brunt of Taylor's excited rambling. She'd been excited to hear about it the week before as Gabriella and Taylor were planning their weekend. But now even Martha's patience was wearing thin.

"So, guys, big game this week, up against the Knights again on Friday," Gabriella said.

She was trying to change the subject; firstly for the sanity of their friends who were close to gagging Taylor from using either the word 'Harvard' or 'amazing' within any context. However Gabriella's reasons for changing the subject were also self serving. Unlike Taylor, she wasn't keen to talk about the weekend. The truth was that it had been a weekend of epiphanies, a weekend which had caused a lot of contemplation. Gabriella was grateful for her appointment with the guidance counsellors on Wednesday. The timing was very appropriate. The problem was that she didn't want people asking her what she thought of the colleges they had visited. She didn't want Troy to be drawing assumptions about her preferences when she herself was still rather up in the air about the whole principle.

"Well we're up against Albuquerque Boys College on Wednesday so one game at a time," Chad said.

It seemed that the fates were determined to bring the topic back to the girls weekend adventures. Mr Davis came strolling through the cafeteria, his sights set upon the Wildcat table.

"Gabriella, Taylor, how was your trip?" Mr Davis asked, knowing that the girls had been in the Boston/Cambridge area over the weekend.

"Oh my God it was amazing!" Taylor gushed.

Mr Davis had been a mentor for Taylor throughout her time at East High, and he was well aware of her fixation with Harvard.

"Gabriella?"

"I enjoyed it," she said simply.

"When do you girls have your guidance sessions?"

"Our homeroom has our appointments on Wednesday," Gabriella said. "They should be interesting."

"Anyway, I came by to give you this Gabriella," Mr Davis said, balancing his box with his right arm, and pulled out a book.

"Oh! You found it!" Gabriella exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

"Spent a good part of my Sunday hunting around the attic, but my wife has been at me for months to get up there and sort through some boxes so it's fine."

"Thank you so much, I really appreciate it."

"Like I said, feel free to come discuss anything with me as you work through it, although I'm sure you might grasp the material even better than me."

Mr Davis left Gabriella poring over the textbook – her friends watching in amusement.

"What's this?" Troy finally asked.

"Oh, I asked Mr Davis to suggest an advanced mathematics area I could look into studying. This book is all about Discrete Mathematics – you know, like rings and fields, such as polynomial rings and isomorphisms and…" Gabriella looked up realising that she had a series of blank faces looking at her, and simplified it. "It's a college math textbook."

Taylor was the only one to have any idea what her friend was talking about, and flipped the book open to a random page. Her eyes were wide, her face filled with confusion.

"Why are you here?" Taylor asked.

"Huh?" Gabriella asked. "It's lunch time and we're always in the cafeteria at…"

"At East High. Why are you here? Why aren't you like… working for NASA or something?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Because I don't want to work for NASA."

"Okay maybe not NASA. Google perhaps. Or you could already have nearly finished your college degree. Or…"

"I'm starting to think you don't want me at East High," Gabriella said, trying to lighten the mood and deflect the seriousness of Taylor's tone. "Anyway. So what is the team from the boys' college like?"

* * *

On Tuesday, Chad, Jason, Zeke and Troy decided to dedicate the middle part of their school day to some additional training. They had a free period, followed by lunch and then a PE practical lesson. Half way through their free period, they hit the outdoor basketball court, just mucking around with the ball with some random free throws and casual two on two.

"How do you do that?" Jason asked, slightly in awe, as he retrieved the ball for Troy and passed it back to him.

Troy glanced at his friend. "How do I do what?"

"Make basket after basket after basket… after basket…"

Troy was about to respond with a smart ass answer that he uses his magical powers of levitation to ensure the ball went in, but instead decided upon a serious answer.

"Dunno. I just do it. Sometimes they all go in. Sometimes they don't."

And in illustration of the point, Troy let loose with one more free throw – and the ball went in, nothing but net.

"More often than not the first," Zeke commented, and then ran after the ball.

Troy shrugged. "Whatever. So JC, you ever going to tell us about your date with Kelsi on the weekend?"

"It wasn't really a date," Jason said, playing it down. "We just hung out watching movies. It was fun."

"Well when you go on a date one weekend and then hang out the next weekend, even if you're just watching movies, it's a date," Chad said knowingly, catching a pass from Zeke and turning to the hoop himself.

"Ask her out again for this weekend," Troy encouraged.

"Maybe," Jason said.

"What was up with you and Liana yesterday?" Chad asked Zeke.

"You know very well what was up with me and Liana," Zeke said, rolling his eyes.

"You really think that making Monica jealous is a valid strategy here?" Chad asked.

"Why not? It pissed her off. She deserves it."

Chad rolled his eyes. "But with Liana? You trying to get yourself a rep? Jumping on the town bicycle is a good start."

"Like I'd actually do anything with Liana," Zeke retorted. "Give me some credit. I'm moving on, having fun. New car, new Zeke, you know?" Zeke took a shot, missing the net wildly. "Fuck."

"Baylor, that was terrible," Troy remarked with a grin as he snatched the rebound – and quickly made a basket himself.

"Sorry we're not all as perfect as you, Bolton," Zeke shot back.

* * *

It wasn't uncommon for Troy to have twelve hour days at school. He would go from his final period class to basketball. Then as all of his team mates were able to casually shower up and head on home – he was in a mad rush to make it to a musical rehearsal. He wasn't the only one in the same boat. Ryan and Gabriella were in the teething period for the student council and a series of associated committees that were being formed. Over the next few weeks, a series of responsibilities would officially be delegated out. But for now, they were overseeing everything themselves, meeting a few days after school for something in relation to the student council. Ryan also had his dance classes he took outside of East High; and Gabriella had simply taken upon herself to study material the equivalent of two extra school subjects – for the 'fun' of it.

Tuesdays from 5 – 7 was one of the few designated periods where the full cast of the show were present at once. This time was divided into two sections – firstly, the choreography and rehearsal of two full cast dance numbers. Secondly, to run through scenes involving many characters, and to work on the transitions between scenes. Scenes with, for example, Esmeralda and Mike – were left to be rehearsed during the smaller rehearsals with only particular cast members present.

The location for Tuesday rehearsals was the gymnasium – the only convenient part about the afternoon for Troy. Gabriella and Ryan arrived a little early; the basketball team were still in the locker room showering and only a handful of cast members had arrived. Theodore was running about setting up the sound system. Ryan took a moment – at Gabriella's request – so they could go over the notes from their student council meeting. They both would take notes throughout the meeting, but Gabriella liked to check that they were consistent before she typed up the minutes after the meeting.

"Okay… so yearbook committee?" Gabriella queried, going over her list.

"Chairperson selected, letting her know tomorrow that she's got the job; awaiting applications cor the committee itself," Ryan responded.

"Fundraising team?"

"Nathan already has his team lined up. They will be back to us next week with our quarter 1 event."

"Pep rally?"

"Officially delegated Paula as being chairperson, working in conjunction with the fundraising team."

"Dance committee?" Gabriella asked.

Ryan glanced up, seeing a freshly showered Troy heading towards them. Troy had hesitated for a moment – as though questioning whether he was interrupting. Ryan motioned him forward.

"Currently awaiting applications for volunteers. We have the dates for the Winter Ball, Spring Fling and Junior and Senior Proms. Also negotiating about an additional Sadie Hawkins dance to fall not long after winter break."

"Clubs affiliate?" Gabriella asked, as Troy took a seat beside her, kissing her cheek softly in greeting but not wanting to interrupt.

"Is yourself. Surely you know what you have to do."

"Yes but what do you have written," Gabriella said sternly.

"You are organising a quarterly clubs publication; and facilitating a virtual meeting with the presidents of the relevant clubs who wish to submit applications. Additionally the meeting will highlight to the presidents that if they want their activities to be advertised through student council mechanisms such as pep rallies, then they are to contact Paula."

"Senior class trip?"

"Dates to be confirmed by Matsui by the end of the week. We're only responsible for assisting to organise the nightly 'entertainment'."

"Student survey?"

"Is being prepared by Martha, she will complete it by Friday. It will be given to the IT people to put on the school website."

"And the quarter 1 awards ceremony?"

"Has nothing to do with us."

"Did I miss anything?"

"No. And excuse me before Theodore comes up to get me and you have to put up with him talking to you," Ryan said, jumping up.

Gabriella was finally able to turn to Troy, kissing him softly on the lips. "How was training?"

"Well, I got good news at the beginning and then it turned into a gruelling session of torture. Coach was grilling our asses. Really looking forward to this extra hour of dance," Troy responded sarcastically. "Sounds like your meeting was productive?"

Gabriella was intrigued by the opening part of Troy's recall of training. "Our meeting was productive, but take a step back. The good news?"

"Oh! Right. Sorry, I'm really exhausted."

"You look exhausted."

"Umm… this might kinda break the whole not talking about college stuff rule," Troy began hesitantly. "But my dad got a call from a college asking about me. I don't think they interest me at all but still, he got a call about **me!**"

"That's not breaking the rule at all. That's awesome! What college?"

"Gonzaga."

Gabriella looked a little puzzled. "Is that…. In Washington State?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah. They're an awesome basketball college but… I'm pretty sure it's not the right place for me. It's a Jesuit Catholic College."

Gabriella gave him a wry smile. "I can't see you fitting in at that kind of place but that's amazing that a prominent basketball school is seeking you out."

"I know. Dad thinks it'll all start happening from here so… I guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed. And the meeting tomorrow with the careers counsellor will be good just to sort my brain about it all."

"Definitely."

"Gabriella!" Sharpay's shrill voice rang out. "Thank goodness you are here."

Sharpay sauntered over to the pair, taking the seat next to Gabriella and smiling alluringly.

"Of course I would be here, we have rehearsal," Gabriella pointed out.

"That we do. Would you mind looking over this for me?"

Sharpay handed over a sheet of paper, which Gabriella scanned over. The drama club was submitting an application to the drama department to organise a field trip for the junior and senior drama classes to go see a local production of A Mid Summer Night's Dream in Santa Fe. Sharpay had filled in the relevant application which included a cost benefit analysis. When clubs made such requests, East High required a general outline of relevant costs – in this case, theatre tickets and the hire cost of a bus – and the academic advantages of such a trip.

"It looks good to me," Gabriella said.

"Fabulous. And also I have this for you and Ryan."

Sharpay handed over another sheet of paper. It was her application to chair the school dance committee.

"Oh excellent. I didn't know you wanted to do this."

Sharpay flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I only decided last night. Daddy pointed out that I should look into some extra curricular activities outside of performing arts so I appear more rounded for college applications. He didn't seem to care that I informed him that Julliard's selection process is audition based."

"It's probably best to have a back up plan," Gabriella said tactfully.

"Whatever. Anyway, I must go prepare. Toodles!"

"She considers chairing the school dance committee an extra curricular activity?" Troy muttered.

Gabriella stifled a giggle. "It would be tougher than you think, especially preparing for the Prom. Lots of logistics involved. I'm not sure if Sharpay has thought it through." Gabriella tucked the application into her folder. "Anyway. My mom is working late tonight. AGAIN. I feel bad, she never used to have to work this late before we moved here. Sure, we moved every six months. But at least she wasn't working 24/7."

"Come to my house for dinner," Troy said promptly.

"I can't believe you just said that," Gabriella teased. "You didn't say, oh, I'll come over then."

"My mom made this speech about how I impose upon your house too often and that you should come to my house. I think it's more so because our moms talk about us 'studying' on Thursday afternoon during our free periods."

Gabriella giggled. "And you want to keep on your mom's good side?"

"It just so happens I do. Besides, I was going to suggest we get that physics lab report knocked over."

"I can't believe it, Troy Bolton, wanting to complete an assignment that was only set TODAY?" Gabriella teased.

"Well it's only worth a little bit and I would rather just get it over and done with. Besides, that big physics project is due next week and this write up will help with that."

"Yes, yes it will," Gabriella agreed.

"Young thespians, please halt your conversations as it is time to immerse ourselves into the world of _Once Upon A Time_."

"So you wanna come over?" Troy whispered.

"Will it be okay with your mom?" Gabriella whispered back.

Troy pulled out his cell – a dangerous act with Darbus within a fifty foot radius – and quickly typed a text message out.

"We will spend the first half of this evening's session running chronologically through the dialogue from the first half of the first Act; with the second half being dedicated to running through the choreography for the opening number."

Troy's cell vibrated almost straight away with a reply. He held it out for Gabriella to read. _Of course that's fine, Gabriella is welcome any time. _

Gabriella gave him a small smile of confirmation.

* * *

Gabriella loved spending time at Troy's house. She loved seeing him within his natural environment, watching him interact with his parents; she adored Troy's mom and despite a hesitant beginning with his dad, Gabriella had found herself liking Jack Bolton more and more. And Gabriella also actually really enjoyed studying with Troy. She admired his motivation, and his determination to grasp the material. Troy had found a groove, a rhythm in his senior year. The previous year he'd struggled to find balance between basketball and school and the musical and his social life. Somehow this year, it had somewhat fallen into place – and with more difficult material. About a half hour before Gabriella had to be home for curfew, Troy typed the final words of their report.

"Done," he declared, pressing the final full stop with force.

He looked up. Gabriella was lying back on his bed, watching him with a smile on her face.

"Done?" she asked.

"Well, the first draft. That's all my brain is willing to do for now," he conceded.

"My brain is tired also," Gabriella said with a slight yawn.

"You have other homework?" he asked.

"Hmm a little. Strangely since you guys weren't around during free period today, I found myself getting a lot accomplished."

Troy grinned. "We'll go play ball more often than."

He stood up from the desk, stretching his arms, crossing his right arm over his chest and then his left. He then collapsed onto the bed beside Gabriella, nestling up to her and kissing her neck.

"Troy!" she hissed, jerking her head towards the open door.

Before they had disappeared upstairs, Jack had grabbed Troy and installed the door open rule. Troy had merely rolled his eyes but nodded – knowing that they were genuinely planning to study anyway.

"I'm not gonna do anything, I'm not stupid," Troy murmured.

The two remained snuggled together for another couple of minutes, before Troy let out a sigh.

"Okay. Time to drive you home."

Less than ten minutes later, Troy pulled up at the curb outside of Gabriella's house.

"So I'll see you in about… nine hours," she teased.

Troy groaned. "That's scary."

"That you'll see me so soon?"

"No!" he retorted. "That between now and then I have to do more homework, go for a run and get ready for school. Oh and sleep at some stage. I'm sure I'll fit it in somehow."

Gabriella pressed her lips to his softly in a sweet kiss. "I'm really proud of you."

"Proud of me?" Troy asked questioningly. "Uh… why?"

"Because you're doing so amazingly well this year."

"I wouldn't say amazingly well. I'd say I'm doing better than I expected but…. Who knows if it'll be good enough."

"Everything will work out in the end. I believe that," Gabriella said firmly.

"Do you really?" Troy asked.

"Taylor said something about everything just falling into place… and it made sense to me. I have to believe that. Why else go through life if you don't believe it'll all work out?"

Troy brought his hand up to stroke the side of Gabriella's face. "I love you," he murmured.

"I love you too," Gabriella responded quietly.

Lips gravitated towards the other, a magnetic pull which brought them together. It was a soft kiss, grazing teasingly, savouring the moment. Lips parted, granting the access each sought to allow tongues to playfully stroke and caress and massage. In that moment, homework and basketball and council obligations and impending careers counsellor sessions – it all drifted away. Because in that moment – there was Troy, and there was Gabriella, and there was love. And that was all that mattered.

They pulled apart, two sets of lips relaxing into a contented smile.

"I want to take you out this weekend," Troy said quietly, but with conviction, as they gazed at one another with foreheads pressed together.

"You say that like we don't normally see each other on weekends," Gabriella responded.

"We haven't had a really nice night out in a while. Where it's just about you and I. Where it's not about dealing with the drama in everyone else's lives."

"But other people's dramas tend to inevitably pop up."

"This Saturday, they won't. It's you and me, Gabriella, all about you and me."

* * *

Gabriella pulled out her keys, and turned the key inside the lock. She glanced up. Troy never failed to wait until that moment when she had already stepped inside. Her last glance out the door would always include a view of his car, parked patiently at the curb. She tore her eyes away and closed the door behind her.

"Mom?" she called softly.

"In the lounge," Elena called back.

Gabriella slipped off her shoes, placed them on the shoe rack, and headed into the lounge room.

"I assume you got my message?" Gabriella asked.

"I would have called if I hadn't." Elena studied her daughter. "Nice time at Troy's?"

"We pretty much got a physics project finished so that was good. It took a while but now we won't have to think about it."

"That's good. And rehearsal?"

"Also went well. Dancing really isn't my thing but it's always so encouraging looking over and seeing Troy somehow manage to pick it up. It's like he pushes me to want to try harder."

Elena smiled wistfully. "Are you rushing up to go to sleep or can we chat for a bit?"

"Of course we can talk."

She patted the sofa next to her, and Gabriella sat down.

"I want to talk to you about Troy," Elena said, not beating around the bush.

Gabriella sighed, knowing exactly what the context of the Troy chat was going to be.

"Again?"

"Gabi," Elena said warningly.

"No really, why do we need to talk about it again?"

"Because we haven't really talked about it. I know you like to think that your little hints and brushing off the conversation because you're not having sex 'yet' counts as talking about it – but it doesn't. And I think that if you and I have one open discussion about the matter, I will feel more comfortable about the entire thing – and you might even find that you feel more comfortable about it too."

Gabriella took a deep breath. "Okay," she said simply.

"Okay?" Elena asked, surprised that Gabriella wasn't protesting.

"Okay," Gabriella repeated. "May I ask what suddenly spurred you to want to talk about this now?"

Elena nodded. "I've been asked to go away again this weekend."

"Oh. I see."

"And… and in the past I wouldn't have felt the need to set down rules about who you may and may not have over whilst I'm away; but now… well, things are different."

"What is the rule you want to set down?"

"I just said that I don't want to set down a rule because you and I have never operated that way."

"Okay then, don't set down a rule. But tell me what it is you're not feeling comfortable about?"

"I don't want you to have Troy over here. I don't mind if you have some friends over and if Troy is one of them, but I don't feel comfortable leaving the two of you here alone for the whole weekend. I have been very tolerant of your after school… study sessions…" Elena said _study sessions_ like it was a dirty phrase. "But I have to draw a line and I just don't think that I can…"

"Mom, it's okay," Gabriella said, interrupting her. "That's fine. I would like to have some friends over, but I'm totally fine that you don't want me and Troy alone. That's fine."

Elena breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

"To start with, my period is due at the end of this week so…"

"That is _not_ what I wanted to hear," Elena said. "Are you suggesting that if you didn't have your period…"

"No. No I'm not," Gabriella said firmly. "But mom, I love Troy and he loves me. And sooner rather than later… it's going to happen. And I feel so lucky to have a mom who I love and am close enough with that I can be honest about that with."

Elena closed her eyes, exhaling. "I know that you're going to do it sooner rather than later. That's what scares me. Because even though I know you think you're ready, I don't know if you are."

"I told you about my appointment at the GP last week. Getting… getting The Pill?"

"Yes you did."

"Which I'll start taking when my period starts this week. So… if I'm ready and I'm prepared…"

Elena sighed. "Tell me, have you thought about what you would do if… if something went wrong?"

"If something went wrong? How do you mean?"

"Let's say… let's say you were taking contraceptive pills and you got food poisoning and were sick and then just totally forgot about it and it disrupted the flow? Or what if you just forgot to take a Pill?"

"Your point?"

"Have you and Troy talked about what you would do if… if the contraception isn't effective?"

Gabriella looked somewhat uncomfortable. "No."

"Do you think you should?"

"I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well… yes. Yes we should," Gabriella admitted.

"Why the Pill?"

Gabriella blinked. "Huh?"

"Why did you choose to take contraceptive Pills?"

"I… I don't know. I just… I'd heard about them and… and when I went to the clinic and asked about them, they seemed to sound manageable."

"What clinic did you go to?" Elena asked.

"Just the regular one. I asked for the female GP."

"I want you to go back again, but I want you to go to a different clinic. There is a sexual health clinic in Central Avenue. You should have found out about other birth control options, like the shot and…"

"The shot? A daily needle? No thank you," Gabriella said with a shudder.

"Daily? It's once every three months."

"Oh! Really?"

Gabriella's lack of knowledge about the matter was not impressing Elena in the slightest.

"You are going to this clinic. As soon as possible," Elena said firmly. "And I have it in my right mind to report this GP you went and saw."

"But she was really good! I must have just sounded very definitive that it was the Pill I wanted," Gabriella protested. "I did lots of research about it, I really did. Just… not about other options."

"Well that's about to change, isn't it? Let me know when you're available and I'll call the clinic in the morning."

"You don't have to do that, I can call," Gabriella said in a small voice.

"No, I will do it," Elena said adamantly. "Then you can make an informed decision about what option is best for you."

"You'd rather I just didn't do it altogether, wouldn't you?"

"What do you expect? I'm your mother and you're my teenage girl."

"But… I love Troy. And he loves me," Gabriella protested, echoing her previous statement.

Elena coughed. "Right."

"I know you think that I'm just some silly swooning high school girl. If you'd told me a year ago that we'd be here having this conversation, I would have agreed with you. But it's not like that. It's NOT. Troy and I have something real. Wouldn't you prefer that I did this with him than going off to college and getting drunk and doing it with some random?"

"I would prefer that you did neither. You make it sound like you HAVE to have sex, like there is no alternative option. You're young sweetheart, you don't need to rush into things and…"

Gabriella held her hand up. "Mommy… I know you mean well. And I appreciate you telling me about the shot and… and I understand you wanting to help me with that. But… the 'to do or not to do' decision… I don't think there's much that you can say that is going to influence me."

"Again, that's what scares me. Sweetheart… you have so much ahead of you. So many opportunities are going to open themselves up to you. I just… I would hate to see all of that destroyed if something… if something did happen, and you hadn't discussed it and…" Elena took a deep breath. "Anyway."

"I will talk to Troy about it," Gabriella said simply.

Elena nodded. "Okay."

"And I'll go to the other appointment whenever you make it for and learn more about birth control and everything."

"Good."

"And I won't have Troy here alone on the weekend – period or no period," Gabriella said. "To be honest I care more that you're away again. I understand that you have to go away but…"

"There are only a few more of these sessions. This one came up very unexpectedly, I only found out about it this afternoon, that's what my meeting was about this evening."

Gabriella nodded. "It's okay. I know… I know that the alternative is the old job and we would have left Albuquerque… which I'm so glad we didn't. Not just because of Troy, because of so many reasons."

"Come here," Elena said simply, holding her arms open.

Gabriella allowed her mother's arms to envelope around her in a warm, comforting hug.

"I love you mom," she said quietly. "I don't say it enough. But I do."

"I love you too, baby, so much."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Okay so my intent has been to get Part 1 of _Someday_ finished and posted before the official release date of HSM3 in the United States. Which, as I suddenly realised in a dumb epiphany (I should have already been acutely aware but... for some reason I lost track of time), is going to mean updating every other day. I know that some of you don't have time to be online and reading as frequently as others so I hope this doesn't become, well, just too much. Like 'argh, _Someday_ chapters being thrown at me!' My teeny request is that, if you are someone who is inclined toward consistently leaving your thouhts and feedback, I would still love to get feedback about each chapter. Even if you get behind and read a few chapters at once. I don't care about whether you put it all into the one comment or separately after each chapter, whatever floats your boat. It's just that from here on out, the story becomes increasingly layered and so I will benefit from having people comment about each chapter, so I know what you're getting, what you're feeling, what isn't as clear. Are you hip with my lingo? -Dani xo


	35. Chapter 34

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: L**ast chapter I reached a thousand reviews which is just absolutely completely incredibly mind blowing. Utterly speechless and giddy would describe my overall state of mind. Thank you to everyone who has been reading, demonstrating your support, and providing your feedback, suggestions and encouragement. You guys mean the world to me.

A quick congratulations to Onelys (a.k.a. Nel, a.k.a. _Persephone Lemonade,_ a.k.a. my personal pep squad leader and source of creative motivation) for persevering to claim the title of 'thousandth reviewer'. I consider it rather fitting that my thousandth review was from a kindred spirit with whom I feel bound to by our mutual love for any form of shirtless Zefron.

It also seems rather fitting that within this well of gratefulness that I thank my beta readers whose feedback and observations after previewing my work is absolutely crucial toward producing the best quality of work I possibly can.

And just one more quick note is that I have gone into a lot of detail with Troy's guidance interview here, some of you will find it entirely boring but I actually found it really fascinating being able to learn about the recruitment process into college sport. I want to acknowledge that it has been a combination of my own research and the guidance of _laxgirl14_ which have forged my interpretation of the process and Troy's thoughts on the whole thing.

* * *

**Chapter 34**

Troy came out of his first period trigonometry class on Wednesday morning, he and Paula falling into step with Taylor and Gabriella who had exited from their calculus lesson in the classroom next door.

"You guys hanging around the quad?" Paula asked, referring to the free period which the majority of senior year had.

"No. I don't have my free period now, remember?" Taylor asked, somewhat bitterly.

"Oh don't sound so sour, you love your Global Studies class," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

"True."

"I'll be at the quad," Gabriella told Paula. "I believe Chad and Ryan are going to attack me for assistance with algebra. They forget I have my own work to do and think I am some free tutor. The parents of the kid I tutor after school on Monday afternoons pay me to help him with elementary school maths – I wonder how much I should charge the guys for teaching them Algebra II?"

Taylor sighed. "I asked Chad if he wanted help with that assignment and he blew me off. Idiot."

"Well I have my appointment with the guidance office now," Troy informed them. "So I'll be over there after that."

"Good luck," Paula said.

"Why good luck?" Troy asked, puzzled.

"I had my appointment yesterday. I thought I had everything sorted, but I arrived and realised that I am so not prepared for any of this process at all."

"Oh good. Make me feel nervous. Thanks," Troy said sarcastically.

They split in different directions, Troy falling into step with Taylor as they headed in the opposite direction from the quad. As they walked along, he had swung his backpack around to sit on his front, allowing him to fish through. He pulled out a folder with a clear label on the front of _College Application Paperwork._

"Wow. You look prepared," Taylor remarked, genuinely surprised.

Troy gave her a slight smile. "I am actually. I've been researching for a while. Since… well… "

"Since you and Gabriella agreed to not discuss it?" Taylor supplied.

"Yeah pretty much," he admitted with a sheepish nod. "I did a lot of research on Sunday actually. I can thank you girls for going away perhaps, it kind of made it sink in that this is all very scarily real."

"What, the big SAT night and the 'how to' guides for college applications they keep giving us wasn't enough?" Taylor asked.

"All an accumulation I guess. Is uh… I guess Gabriella has something like this?" Troy asked hesitantly.

Taylor paused as they reached her classroom. "I haven't seen it but… she would," Taylor said matter of factly.

"Uh… I don't suppose you…"

"Troy, the two of you made this agreement to not discuss it for a reason. Don't go fishing for information," she said sternly.

He sighed. "Right, right. I know."

"Anyway, this is me," Taylor said motioning to the classroom. "Go on, don't want to be late for your appointment."

* * *

Mrs Jensen, the guidance counsellor, was also impressed with Troy's preparation. She'd been seeing student after student all week. Often it was disheartening just how little some of the kids had thought about where they might be in the years to come. Uncertainty didn't worry her, confusion was fine. But it was the lack of care that was exhibited by so many. The blasé, oh well I've got months left to think about it, attitude.

Troy Bolton wasn't one of those students. He'd been thinking about the future since sophomore year when his dad first started going on about basketball scholarships and scouts. And over the last couple of weeks, something had ticked in his brain. He knew that he wanted to pursue professional basketball, he knew that the first step was getting into a great college with a great basketball team.

"Firstly, can I just say that I am impressed to see that you've done your homework," Mrs Jensen said, motioning to Troy's folder. "Because I had to do my own research ready for our meeting today."

"Your own research?" Troy repeated.

"I haven't really dealt with a burgeoning athletic star before. I sat down and had a meeting with your father so I could understand how your college recruitment process may differ from a regular student. And I also had to talk to some external sources to determine to what extent your father's boastings about you are fatherly pride or legitimate fact."

"What's the verdict?"

Mrs Jensen smiled. "I had a chat with your coach from the state team last year."

"Coach Lang?"

She nodded. "Awesome guy. He seems to think that New Mexico State are ready to offer you a full financial aid package any day now."

"He is biased. He used to work for New Mexico State."

"Ahh, but he doesn't anymore. He works in journalism now."

"He works in journalism and is the state high school coach, the state team who is funded by New Mexico State," Troy pointed out.

"Assume he does have bias. Why would he be suggesting that they will offer you a package if they weren't? He would be making them look like idiots."

Troy shrugged. "I guess."

"And it seems that the University of Albuquerque have keen interest in you?"

"Yeah I guess. Nothing concrete offered yet. I have scrimmaged with their team a few times which… well… they don't ask just anyone to do that."

"And Gonzaga have also invited you up for an all expenses paid visit?"

Troy nodded. "They're a great team, it's such an honour."

"But?" she prodded.

Troy sighed. "It's complicated. I just… I just don't have a gut feeling about any of these schools. Not even U of A who have been fairly persistent with their interest."

"Tell me what your thoughts are at the moment."

Troy sighed. "I know I want to get into a college that competes in Division I of the NCAA. I'm probably more suited to Division III…"

"Why?" she interrupted.

"Because I'm white and under six foot. But I'm willing to take my chances and aim for Division I, if I ultimately want to pursue professional basketball, Division I is the way to go – plus then I can hopefully score financial aid."

"Okay, go on."

Troy sighed. "Up until just a couple of weeks ago, it was only really U of A who had shown any direct interest in me. With college ball recruitment, the scouts seek you out, they throw these enticements at you. You then put in an application to all the schools you might want to go to through the regular applications process and as applications are being processed our finals and the states and the McDonalds All American and all the other stuff is going on. The schools express further interest, you pick one, and they get you accepted. If you don't have schools wanting you – or if you want to play for a team that hasn't expressed interest – then you have to get in to college through the normal route, hope that financial aid comes through other mechanisms, and then try out. So I was preparing for the worst, I let my girlfriend talk me into taking all these crazy classes…"

"Which the reports suggest you're doing really well in, by the way," Mrs Jensen said.

"Well yeah I am. But yeah… dad seems to think that it's a good sign that Gonzaga have expressed interest and that it'll be throughout playoffs when I'll really get a feel for what my options are going to be."

"You're aware that if you manage to reach your ultimate goal – being the NBA – then you'll probably not finish your degree over the next four years?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah but that's… whatever. I don't really care about the academic program. That sounds terrible, doesn't it? My ultimate goal is the NBA. I don't know if it's just a crazy dream or if I could really do it. But for me… college is a means of creating the opportunity to hone and demonstrate my abilities. Sure, one day I'll have to retire, sure one day I'll want to come back and finish the degree. But where it is, what major it is, what majors are available at a school, how many labs and how big the library is – it is of little meaning to me."

"That's not terrible at all. Truth is, in the real world, where you go to college isn't of a lot of meaning unless you're planning to be someone with a bunch of letters beside their name. Pretend for a moment that finances and acceptances and scouts are irrelevant. Do you have anywhere in particular that you're keen to get accepted?"

"Well UCLA is the basketball dream and you say to ignore scouts and acceptances but I can't for UCLA. I won't get scouted to UCLA; I would have to do the long winded route of applying and trying out. And then I mightn't get any match time. Dad seems pretty excited about this U of A thing, and also the whole New Mexico State potential offer."

"Your dad is excited? What do you think?"

Troy hesitated. "U of A, and New Mexico State are both really awesome but well… I think maybe it would be good to move away from this area. I think there are better colleges out there, and there are better college ball teams. I could go to U of A and wind up on the first string team but… it might be better to have to go somewhere else and work my way onto the team, force me to improve my game. To become the best you can be, you have to be playing with and competing against the best."

"So if you got an athletic scholarship here in New Mexico; and you also got in somewhere that you consider to be 'the best' and you didn't get a scholarship but you were offered financial aid of some sort and could acquire a student loan for the remainder…."

Troy shrugged. "I don't know."

"Okay. So you've acknowledged that maybe there are better colleges for you than ones in our state. So where?"

"That's hard to judge. I mean they don't all compete against each other, there are different conferences, and the teams change from year to year…"

"It sounds to me like you're holding back from answering me straight, Troy."

He sighed. "You said before if… if there's no money issue or issue with grades or whatever?"

"Yes."

"What if there was something else?"

The fact was that the counsellor knew from the moment that Troy had walked in that there was going to be another factor to be considering within this session.

"Such as?"

"I have a girlfriend," Troy said, somewhat meekly. "I realise you probably think that is stupid and I shouldn't be thinking about it but…"

"I don't think that, not at all. I would be concerned if you were in a relationship and not considering how your decisions might impact upon them."

"I don't know where she wants to go. I know it'll be something within the sciencey mathy area. I know it'll be somewhere impressive. I know that she and I won't be at the same college. I guess… it's hard because… in terms of the basketball side, there might not be a lot of difference between, say, Berkley or Boston University. And let's say I got into both. And let's say they both offered equal financial aid. If she wound up at Harvard, wouldn't it make sense to think that I should be leaning towards BU? Or if she was at Stanford, then UC would be the better choice. Right?"

"I can't dictate to you what decisions are going to be best for your life. That's what you need to decide. My job is to guide you as to how to make that decision come to fruition."

"Yeah. I know."

"As a regular counsellor, not a guidance counsellor – I think you need to talk about it with her. Plenty of young people make decisions about their futures, their colleges, to accommodate a relationship. Sometimes that is the right thing to do. Sometimes it's not. You need to talk about that."

Troy sighed. "Knowing Gabriella, she isn't going to come out and say where she wants to go. Even though she will get in everywhere she wants to go, she's going to apply at a variety of colleges across the country. But ultimately… this is my career, right? It's like a part of me wants to sit and align our applications so that with luck we can be at least within driving distance from each other. But… another part of me knows that it would be hard enough to do that for someone looking to go to college the regular way. Let alone with my situation."

"Pretend for a moment you didn't have a girlfriend, that this didn't matter either. Do you have a gut instinct?"

"You believe in gut instincts?"

"Sure."

Troy paused. "Well… the west coast I guess. Probably California. UCLA might be the pipe dream but even to be in the Pac 10 conference with them would be awesome. Or even the Big West or WCC conference. But having said that, there are so many awesome schools across the whole country. North Carolina and Memphis are totally the sh… the… the bomb," Troy corrected himself sheepishly. "… at the moment. Butler, Louisville, Drake are all awesome… I could keep listing. But there's no point in speculating because I just have to wait and see what comes up."

"So right now, you need to focus on two scenarios. Let's say, hypothetically, that you decide you don't want to play basketball in college; or that all of these schools don't appeal to you enough to accept their offer; or that the unlikely scenario of not being offered anything happens. You need to keep working on your general application to get in the old fashioned way. Maintain your grades. Maybe think about doing something else extra curricular, like volunteering for the student council or something. And then secondly and likely the probably and more important of the two – is to focus on being recruited. Focus on your game. Start taking these offers seriously. If they've made you an offer, express return interest. Maybe think about organising some of the trips to visit them, if it fits in with your schedule. It sounds to me like a lot of this stuff is fairly word of mouth. If College B here that College A have made you an offer and that you've been expressing interest, they are then likely to retaliate by making their own offer. Then around play offs, we can see what other offers have popped up and maybe I can help you with your process of elimination."

"That's all? Keep doing what I've already been doing and we'll deal with it later?" Troy said incredulously. "I thought you might hand me the magic solution on a silver platter."

"There is no magic solution. And your situation is different to your classmates. We have to adapt your process accordingly."

"But when I get the offers, you're gonna help me decide which one to take, right?" Troy said hopefully.

"That's not my job Troy, that's yours. All I can do is throw the questions out there to get you thinking about it." She paused. "I can offer you a general piece of advice, being that when you're thinking about where is going to be best for basketball – I guess you need to take into account how your life itself is going to impact upon your game. I sense your drive, and I don't question you prioritising basketball above the academic program. The truth is that unless you're looking to study astrophysics or become a hot shot lawyer or something – there isn't a great deal of difference between different colleges. If you decide later in life that your calling really is within some high demand academic area, you can always go back and do post graduate study in a more specific area at a more exclusive college. In making your decision, it's important to take into account your overall lifestyle, where you're going to be happy. If you force yourself to move to Washington State when you don't want to live there, you're not going to be in a good state of mind and so you're not going to play well."

Troy sighed. "I have this feeling that I'm going to leave here today even more confused than I was before."

"More confused is fine. But hopefully because you've got more to think about."

* * *

Meanwhile a couple of hours later, Gabriella was sitting in the very same chair, awaiting Mrs Jensen to finish a phone call. She flipped open her folder, withdrawing a sheet of paper.

"Sorry Gabriella," Mrs Jensen said, hanging up the phone.

Gabriella smiled. "That's fine."

"Someone else prepared. There are few of you but when you come in it never ceases to amaze me."

"I have to admit I was a bit behind the ball. Which you pointed out to me when you called me in a couple of weeks ago to ask about why I hadn't made an appointment about early entrance applications."

"But it seems you've given it some thought now."

Gabriella nodded. Even in the few short days since the weekend in Boston, Gabriella had put even more effort into her research. "I have. I've got a shortlist of colleges I want to apply for. This is the list."

Gabriella handed over the sheet of paper, with the same short list she had identified to Taylor when they were in Boston.

"I have looked at the applications for each of them, there are a few I will miss the deadline for early acceptance because East High are doing the SATs a little later and I wasn't on the ball to apply to do them earlier than everyone else but… that's okay. I've got some ideas for some of the essays I have to write."

"On paper, I must say you are going to look really impressive, Gabriella. East High was already anticipating a fight from colleges trying to get you on the basis of your academic transcript alone. But with your extra curriculars…"

Gabriella blushed a little, but she knew it was true. "It's funny, I just fell into doing the musical, and really it was the same with student council. Ryan wanted to do it and he asked me to be his running mate and I agreed. And now, it's inadvertently all panned out to make me look like I've really put thought into ensuring my resume was well rounded."

"I think that's what makes it even better. You didn't do any of it specifically to make yourself look impressive. Colleges aren't stupid, when they look at applications and someone suddenly has 'dance committee' from about November in their senior year, they know that 99 percent of the time, the person volunteered so they would appear as though they had civic and school pride."

"Do you think I should do some volunteer work?" Gabriella asked. "Like for a charity or something?"

Mrs Jensen smiled. "That's up to you. Certainly plenty of students do just to round off their applications but… I think yours just might be impressive enough as it is."

"Some of these colleges don't offer merit scholarships. And my mom…. Well she earns a lot of money so I don't think I will qualify for financial aid."

"Do you need it?"

"I would like something," Gabriella admitted. "I'm not averse to relying upon a loan from my mom and a student loan. And there is some money that I will receive when I turn 18. But I would rather try to take advantage of whatever I can in terms of monetary assistance. So I've been looking into state scholarships and grants but it's all rather confusing."

"Well that part I can definitely help you with. Have you thought about your major?"

"I've thought about it, but no decisions yet. I can always change that once I'm there."

"Very true. So do you have preferences among these?" Mrs Jensen asked, indicating to the short list.

Gabriella shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I could divide it into a top half and a bottom half. Ultimately I'm not sure yet. Do you have an opinion?"

"I think that what is best for one student may not be best for another. It comes down to your own individual circumstances, other factors such as family and friends and overall lifestyle."

* * *

The mood at lunch was peculiar. Every one of the core Wildcat group had been to their guidance counsellor session; with the mood ranging from contemplative, to excited, to frustrated.

"I expected to be grilled," Chad announced. "My expectations were met. Simple."

"Did it help though?" Martha asked. "I mean, I was grilled but I think I get it all more now."

"I guess," Chad conceded.

"I enjoyed it," Kelsi said brightly. "I think we're lucky that East High put so much into helping us to work out our futures. My cousin graduated from a school in Texas last year, and she had to research everything all on her own."

"What do you need to know? You're just gonna go to Juilliard," Jason remarked with a grin.

"That's not a given. Juilliard is more selective than Harvard. But it's okay, I have back up plans. Just the back up plans rely upon grades and with Juilliard, I can get in with my piano alone."

"Hey guys," Troy called out, sliding in with the group. He turned to Ryan and Gabriella. "Have you picked a chairperson for the yearbook committee yet?"

"Umm… we have but we haven't informed that person yet."

"When will you be telling them?"

"Hey everyone," Taylor said, joining from the opposite direction.

"In about one minute," Ryan said.

"In about one minute what?" Taylor asked as she sat down.

"Ryan and I reviewed the applications to chair the yearbook committee," Gabriella said casually.

"Oh?" Taylor sat up a little straighter. She was attempting to appear aloof and casual but the glimmer in her eye gave away her anticipation.

Gabriella scooped up a mouthful of yoghurt, drawing out Taylor's anticipation.

"WELL?" Taylor asked.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Like we wouldn't have picked you."

"You picked me?" Taylor asked, mouth agape.

"Well duh!" Gabriella said.

Taylor let out a small squeal, throwing her arms around Gabriella in a tight hug, and then turned to Ryan to hug him.

"I won't let you down," she declared, very seriously.

"Since you've been on the committee the last two years, I'm sure you'll know all about it, but I'll e-mail you through the documents I got given about it," Ryan told her.

"Awesome."

"And you'll get a whole pile of applications coming in over this week from people wanting to be on the committee," Gabriella said.

"About three quarters of those will be from people who the guidance counsellor had advised to get involved in an additional extra curricular," Ryan added, rolling his eyes.

"What a great lead in for me," Troy remarked.

"Huh?" Ryan asked.

Troy sheepishly pulled out a sheet from his notebook.

"Application for the yearbook committee?" Taylor said, incredulously.

"Yes," Troy said firmly. "And I will admit that I am one of this seventy five percent of people advised to take on board an additional extra curricular but I really think I could do a good job at this."

"YOU want to be on the yearbook committee. YOU," Taylor let out a slight snort, which Troy was offended by.

"Why are you reacting like that?" Troy demanded. "Why would I not be an asset to your committee?"

Taylor composed herself. "Troy, for one moment I am going to push aside the question of whether you actually have any kind of useful skill for such a committee. And instead, I ask you this – how on earth are you going to have TIME? The yearbook committee is actually really serious, it's a huge job."

"It's not like I want to put the thing together on my own," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "The hardest jobs are for the art and media students, which they do as a part of their course. And you're going to have so many applicants that you can just give each person a tiny job if you are so concerned that we are all so brain dead that we are not capable of performing at a level you consider satisfactory."

"That was a lot of syllables, Bolton. Tell you what, I'll take your application under advisement and get back to you."

Troy narrowed his eyes. "You haven't even READ my application."

"I will."

"Yeah right. You're gonna sit there with a garbage can marked 'jock' and scrunch the thing into a ball and toss it in there."

Taylor smiled. "Actually I have a paper shredder so there will be no scrunching of paper involved in my process."

"Gabriella, can you tell your friend that I am not completely useless?" Troy demanded.

"Troy is not completely useless," Gabriella said deadpan.

"At least TRY to sound sincere," Troy grumbled.

Taylor sighed. "Troy, give me some credit. Of course I'm not going to just shred your application on the basis of your being a lunkhead athlete. I just got the job, I don't know who is going to be applying, and I haven't even looked at the break down of how they recommend I organise things. There are likely lots of things that you could do that will be useful but for all I know, I'll get a hundred applications from people who sit around after school twiddling their thumbs with all the time in the world."

"There ARE lots of things I could do, and do really well! I could write the sports write up for example. I could do interviews! I'd be good at that. And…"

"Troy. You're not helping. You're sounding desperate. Why don't you just put in an application for the school dance committee?"

"I am desperate. And I actually would like to do something constructive with my time. Selecting what colour streamers will make the gym look less like a gym isn't my idea of being constructive."

"Taylor, are you opposed to selecting people for the committee and then allowing them to just do nothing? So they can then put on their college apps that they were on the yearbook committee?" Chad asked.

Taylor stared back at her boyfriend. The scary thing was that he was completely serious. "Do you know me at all?"

"Yeah I thought it was a long shot."

"What, you want to apply now too?"

"Why not? I need another extra curricular too. I was thinking the dance committee might be all right but if Taylor is in charge of the yearbook committee then that sounds more appealing."

"If I lost my mind and actually picked the two of you to be on the committee, I'm not going to give you special treatment. You get that, right?"

The two boys responded simultaneously.

"Of course," Troy said firmly.

"Not even a little?" Chad asked.

"Troy, why are you stressing about a well rounded application anyway?" Ryan asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Surely you'll get recruited. Don't you then just… walk into the college. Regardless of your application?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. It can work like that. Doesn't mean that's how it'll work out for me. So I have to cover all my bases," Troy explained.

* * *

It was a crazy time of year. Even before students were dragged to the guidance office, things were heating up with both course work and extra curricular activities. Assignments were piling up, exams looming around the corner, SAT prep work being conducted. Winter sports were under way for the season, regional dance contests not far away, the musical rehearsals now running like clockwork. Amidst family crisis, personal issues, relationship dramas and stress in general – the monotony of life went on.

Wednesday night marked another win in the bag for the Wildcats, against Albuquerque Boys College. Post match on court celebrations were ended sooner than usual, with Coach Bolton calling the boys back for a detailed debrief. Evidently he wasn't entirely impressed with the performance, and as they had another match against the Knights on Friday afternoon, he wanted to analyse the match in detail. Additionally, he announced that the following afternoons training session was to be extended.

The boys emerged from the locker room feeling rather weary. Doting girlfriends, friends and family members were waiting patiently outside. The remaining members of the Wildcat crew gravitated together. Both Ryan and Martha had taken off, however Gabriella, Taylor and Kelsi were waiting patiently outside. The guys approached them, clearly looking somewhat grim.

"I've never felt so demoralised after WINNING," Chad remarked.

"That's Coach for you," Jason said.

"He was right. We could've been better," Troy said glumly.

"You all look rather… depressed," Kelsi said tentatively, as the boys approached.

"We just got grilled," Zeke informed her.

"After a win?" Taylor asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yup," Chad confirmed.

"Troy!" Coach Bolton's voice called across the parking lot.

Troy had to hold back a groan. He felt Gabriella's arm slip around his waist, squeezing.

"What?" Troy called back, somewhat wearily.

"You getting up early tomorrow morning for a run like usual?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I might suggest you cut the run short and work on some free throws. Your stats tonight… could have been better."

Troy gritted his teeth. "Okay," he replied simply.

Coach Bolton nodded. "Don't be too late," he said, before striding across the parking lot to his car.

"You okay?" Gabriella asked softly.

"Fine," Troy replied shortly. "Right, I'm taking off. See you's tomorrow."

He gripped onto Gabriella's hand tightly as they walked through the school grounds to the student parking lot.

"I feel like going for a drive. Just… anywhere. Not too late of course," he added dryly. "Umm… do you wanna come with? Or do you just want me to drop you off at home?"

"I'll come with you," Gabriella said, squeezing his hand.

"Okay."

Troy knew where he was driving, and Gabriella knew where he was going. They didn't need to discuss his direction. He merely drove, and they allowed the sounds of music to fill the silence within the car. When they arrived at the lush green park, Gabriella's mind drifted back to her very first date with Troy, where he had brought her here and revealed the significance of the location.

"_My dad used to bring me here when I was a kid, nearly every Sunday we'd come here. We'd just hang out, ride our bikes, play some basketball. Sometimes we would bring a picnic, sometimes we'd grab take out on our way."_

_Troy stopped as they approached the spot he was heading towards. There was a park bench overlooking a pond, where he went and sat down, gazing across the water. Gabriella sat next to him._

"_Whenever I feel upset or stressed or anything… I guess it's like my secret science club garden at school. It's just somewhere that I ride my bike to and come to be alone and unwind… it has a calming affect, you know? The memories that I have here are all good. Make me feel better about the world."_

And there on the very same bench, almost nine months later, the young couple were seated again.

"Troy? Are you okay?" Gabriella asked tentatively.

He was staring out at the picturesque vision of the clear night sky reflecting against a pond with his brow furrowed, his face scrunched into a look of stress and confusion.

"I was doing so well. Sure I was going fucking crazy being busy every second of the day but… it was okay. Tonight, I just felt so, so tired. I wasn't playing my best," Troy admitted, hating the words coming out of his mouth. He didn't like admitting when he wasn't in top form. "And sure, I know that when I'm not at my best I'm still okay but… but okay isn't good enough, you know? Not in my recruitment year."

"It's one game, Troy," Gabriella said consolingly, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Yeah but it's only gonna get worse, isn't it? The assignments are all due over the next two weeks, I still don't know hardly any of my lines for the show, the trig is getting harder. Let along the whole college thing that I have to be thinking about more and more, and not just thinking but doing stuff about. The state basketball tournament last year was the most stressful period ever, and I so don't want to go back to that place I was at then, I just can't go back there."

"So we do something about it now," Gabriella said, with optimistic determination. "You're aware that things are piling on now, so we do something preventative, take the offensive stand, rather than waiting til it is all too much."

"We? You have your own shit Gabriella, I'm not venting to coerce you into helping me," Troy protested.

"A lot of my shit is your shit as well," Gabriella pointed out. "Like rehearsing for the show. And studying. We can start from tomorrow afternoon before your practice, and sit down together over the weekend and do the physics assignment and do some extra rehearsals."

"Tomorrow afternoon?" Troy repeated. "You umm… you have your… your…"

"Yes," Gabriella said, surprised at his observation skills. "Are my mood swings that blatant?"

"No. I kept track of it like I said I would," Troy said teasingly. "But this weekend, I said we are going out and I meant it. This is what has gone wrong with us in the past, not allowing time for our relationship. Something else I've learnt from."

"There is this whole period of time between your shift at work and Saturday night. Why don't I come over after lunch and we can study for a while? I'm really looking forward to a real date again, just you and I, but I don't think that either of us are going to enjoy it if at the back of our minds we're thinking that we should be doing other stuff. So if we get a whole heap of stuff done before hand, that'll be good."

Troy closed his eyes for a moment, and took a few deep breaths in and out, in and out. He opened his eyes and turned to look at his girlfriend.

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" Troy asked.

"Never hurts to say it more and more," Gabriella teased.

"I love you," Troy said seriously. "You know, in the brief moment when I started to panic, I was already trying to reassure myself. I was thinking, maybe if I just ask Gabriella if we can spend some extra time studying and working on the show. But me thinking it just didn't do any good. It took you saying it… somehow, hearing the words from your mouth makes things a billion times better."

* * *

Murphy's Law would dictate that right as an extra hour (or seven) in the day is desired – that time would go quickly. Troy would have liked an extra hour to practice his free throws, an extra hour to do homework, an extra hour to work on the musical, an extra hour to just hang out with Gabriella. Instead, Thursday flew by and despite feeling slightly more in control, it was already Friday. Not only was it Friday, but it was game day against the West High Knights, and Troy woke up feeling a sense of doom. Something in the pit of his stomach telling him that the day ahead wasn't going to go well.

In typical fashion the Wildcats were gathering gradually out the front of the school. There was a red and white vibe in the air, courtesy of the home game against the Knights straight after school that day. Paula had the cheerleaders working at full capacity and the school day hadn't even officially begun. Chad, Taylor, Martha and Kelsi were standing around. Well, the girls were standing around as Chad lapped up the attention from people asking about the afternoon's game. Once Jason arrived, some of the attention was flicked in his direction – that was until he jumped up to sit on the edge of the fountain next to Kelsi. There so much chaos going on around them that no one even noticed the special smile shared between the two.

"Look it's Zeke!" Liana called out.

The cheerleaders broke out into a spontaneous "Gimme a Z.." chant – which was quickly cut short. He emerged from his car – looking rather like his dark skin was a shade of green. Zeke wearily approached his friends, bypassing the cheerleaders altogether. He barely even reacted to the sight of Monica's concerned glance.

"Dude, you look like shit," Jason said bluntly.

"Thanks man."

"No really Zeke… you look…. Well, kind of pale actually," Martha said.

"Uh huh."

"See this is what happens when you pretend to have the flu. You actually get the flu not long after. Karma," Taylor said knowingly.

"You're hung over!" Chad exclaimed. "Dude!"

"Why don't you say that a little louder so that all the teachers hear," Zeke muttered.

The attention of the cheer squad was drawn back to the parking lot for the arrival of the Wildcat captain himself. As he stepped out of his truck and gentlemanly took hold of Gabriella's ridiculously heavy book bag, the "Gimme a T!" chant proceeded. Troy smiled charmingly, accepting hand shakes and brief hugs as he made his way toward the fountain, with Gabriella by his side.

"Hey fellas!" he exclaimed, standing between Jason and Zeke. "Pumped for this afternoon?"

Zeke winced and groaned, the volume of Troy's enthusiastic tone creating waves of pain through his already pounding brain.

Troy stood back, looking at Zeke warily. "What's with you?"

"He's hung over," Jason said with a laugh.

"Are you joking? Is he joking?" Troy demanded.

"Unfortunately not," Zeke mumbled. "I went to a frat party last night."

"Well, hope it was worth it," Troy said bitterly. "You'd better snap out of it before this afternoon. We've trained too hard for you to go and fuck things up by being hung over."

"I bet it was worth it, college chicks hey!" Chad said.

Taylor coughed.

"College chicks whom I have no interest in whatsoever," Chad added quickly.

"Chad grow up, there's more to life than getting drunk and having sex," Troy snapped.

"Look, it's too late now, he's hung over. What can you do about it?" Jason asked.

"I am here you know," Zeke said. "Bolton, stop stressing. It's all good, I'll be fine."

"Damn fucking straight you'll be fine."

"Thanks for your sympathy man," Zeke said.

Troy sighed impatiently. "I have to go to my locker. See you's at homeroom."

And with that he took off. Gabriella gave Zeke a sympathetic glance before running after Troy.

"Have you taken Berocca or something?" Jason asked.

Zeke nodded. "Berocca, headache tablets, the lot."

"Why don't you go home, you look like shit," Chad suggested. "Sleep is the best cure for hangovers."

"I can't. My mom will kill me if she finds out," Zeke said wearily.

"Go sleep in your car then. Drive it to the parking lot at the botanical gardens or something," Chad suggested.

Zeke looked tempted. "Maybe I should."

"Yeah man. Just be back by the end of last period, or you'll be dealing with two majorly pissed Bolton's."

* * *

"Troy!" Gabriella called, dashing after her boyfriend. "Wait up!"

"It's just too much to expect them to take anything seriously, isn't it?" Troy exploded.

"You need to calm down," Gabriella said soothingly. "I'm sure it will all work out fine. It's not the first time Zeke's had a hang over. He'll be fine."

"I _knew_ that something was going to go wrong today. Have you ever just known something in your gut, just had some intrinsic feeling that something was gonna go wrong?"

"Okay. The thing that is going to go wrong has already gone wrong. Doesn't mean everything is going to keep going wrong," Gabriella pointed out. "All you can do is go on about your day as planned and hope for the best."

Troy exhaled noisily. "You'd better be right. Or Zeke will have hell to pay."

* * *


	36. Chapter 35

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies. I also have no affiliation with Limp Bizkit nor the creative masterpiece that is the track _Rollin'._

**

* * *

****Chapter 35**

After taking the day to sleep off his hung over state, Zeke returned back at school in time for their basketball match with perfect timing. He felt better, but still not 100 percent.

"You right?" Troy had asked him shortly, as the boys were in the locker room, changing into their uniforms.

Zeke nodded. "Fine."

However all it took was five minutes into the first quarter, for it to be evident that Zeke was not completely fine. Coach Bolton snapped at Jason – who had just been pulled off to interchange with one of the juniors – "What's up with Baylor?"

"Umm…He… umm…" Jason stammered.

"Cross!" Coach Bolton snapped.

"I don't think he feels well, sir," came Jason's meek response.

Coach Bolton closed his eyes and called a time out. A quick conference with his assistant coach created a whole new game plan – minimising Zeke's court time.

"All right Baylor, you're off for now. Xavier, let's see you out there."

"What!" Zeke exclaimed. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Don't question me! We do interchange people in basketball. And no, you haven't done anything wrong, but you're not playing at your best. Now sit down and shut up. Boys, look at this play."

And so the game continued. The West High Knights and East High Wildcats had always been fairly closely matched, with games being won and loss by small point margins. A three point jump shot from Troy, followed by a foul against Jason in the act of shooting facilitated free throws; bringing the Wildcats into the lead. Then all it took was a quick steal of the ball from Chad allowing the Knights point guard to score his own three pointer and bring his team back into the lead.

A quick series of points scored in succession by the Knights just minutes before the three quarter time break saw the Wildcats trailing by five points.

Troy was on the bench at the time. He hated his time on the bench. He would sit on the edge of his seat, watching in despair as shots that he likely would have made be missed, watching as he observed an offensive tactic by the Knights in the process of building – and next thing he knew, the Wildcats were another two points behind. They had the perfect opportunity to make up two points when there was a foul against Zeke and free throws were awarded – but Zeke missed both of his shots – very clearly not at his best.

"Put me back on," Troy insisted.

"Troy, we pulled you off because you looked like you were dying out there. You've played the whole match so far and doing more than your share of the work. Take the break so we can get your energy back up for the final quarter," the assistant coach said.

"If we're 20 points behind, I can't exactly do anything about it in the last few minutes. Put me out there now," Troy insisted.

Coach Bolton glanced back at Troy. "Get ready."

Troy peeled off his jacket and stood up, jumping up and down and jogging on the spot. Coach Bolton organised the interchange, Benny coming off and Troy going back on.

Within twenty seconds, Troy managed to steal the ball and dribble it up the other end of the court. The Knights must have had a play already in store should the Wildcat playmaker come back on the court, because immediately Troy found himself surrounded by two Knights, being double teamed. The clock was counting down. Troy wildly glanced around. Chad was probably in a position to be open but he wasn't in a good shooting position. Zeke was his best bet, but he was way at the edge of the three point arc. Zeke – at his best – was an excellent shooter from beneath the net.

Snap decision. Three point attempt from further out than Troy would typically attempt. The ball hit the backboard and rebounded off into the hands of a Knight. Fortunately, the whistle blew, signalling the end of the third quarter.

"I was open!" Zeke exclaimed to Troy, as the boys huddled court side.

"You were further out than you shoot well at on a good day," Troy snapped back.

"All right drop it!" Coach Bolton demanded. "Let's look at these plays."

* * *

Troy might like to believe that he can be five people at once. But the fact was that on the day, the Knights were better. Full stop. Their captain was also a phenomenal point guard with a mean jump shot. Troy made a couple of three pointers, edging the gap – each time, the Knights would subsequently score again. The final losing margin was only two points – but it was two points too many.

Losing is never fun and tension was running high. Coach Bolton merely dismissed everyone, emphasising they would debrief properly on Monday. The locker room was almost silent as the team showered and changed. Troy showered as quickly as physically possible. All he wanted to do was get out and as far away from the gym as possible. He didn't want to go home, he didn't want to be around for his fathers personalised post match rant. He just wanted to get away. Troy was storming around the locker room, throwing his gym bag onto the floor, slamming his locker shut. As Zeke emerged from the shower room, the two exchanged a look. Troy's side being a glare. Zeke's being a look of pleading guilt. Troy merely looked away and brushed past Zeke on his way out.

"Troy," Coach Bolton's voice rang out as he attempted to get past his dad's office undetected.

Troy exhaled in annoyance, but backed up and looked in.

"What?" he said testily.

"You played well."

"No, no I didn't, and we both know that."

"I've seen you better but you didn't play badly. Don't beat yourself up. It was the team as a whole. We've got a lot of youth in our team, better to have a loss now and work to overcome our shortcomings than for the loss to come at a more critical point of the season."

"Whatever," Troy muttered. "See you at home."

Emerging from the locker room after a win never failed to be a glorious moment. Families and friends would be there waiting, they would be met with applause and cheers. But emerging after a loss meant being met with sympathetic glances and murmurings. He almost wanted to create a rule for their supporters – when we lose, just go home. There was nothing better Troy would have liked than to bypass the sympathy and just get into his truck and drive away.

If the guys had emerged into the parking lot on Wednesday night appearing weary – they now were positively wrecked. Being intercepted by his father, Troy had lost his lead on his team mates, now emerging only a few paces ahead of the rest of the Wildcats.

"Troy," Chad called out from behind.

Troy very purposely ignored him, deliberately keeping his eyes trained on the ground.

"Bolton," Zeke attempted once more. "Wait up."

Troy stopped in his tracks just a few feet short of their awaiting non basketball playing friends. He waited for a moment until he could hear that his teammates had caught up behind them.

"Not now," he said lowly, definitively, not tearing his eyes from the concrete.

"Not now what?" Jason asked.

"Just… Not now."

"Hey guys," Kelsi was the first one to gently greet the approaching group.

The juniors all split off, heading towards their parents and friends. Leaving Troy, Chad, Jason, Zeke, Gabriella, Taylor, Kelsi, Martha and Ryan standing around. The awkwardness of the support crowd in not knowing what to say was dissipated, with a new sort of awkwardness created.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Chad demanded. "The not now?"

"Why don't we just clear the air here," Zeke suggested quietly.

"How about we not talk about it," Troy said, gritting his teeth. His arms were still folded as he glowered at the concrete.

"You think it's my fault, don't you?" Zeke asked bluntly.

"Or we talk about it," Troy said under his breath, before folding his arms across his chest and turning to face Zeke. "I never said that it's your fault."

"You're thinking it."

Troy glanced around, noting the watching crowd. Admittedly they were all his friends but nevertheless, it wasn't something he felt they should be talking about with a crowd.

"Okay this is an internal team matter and I don't think we should be talking about it here so…"

Zeke cut Troy off. "That is complete bull shit. You just want to put off admitting what you're thinking."

"Right, we're all going to leave you guys to it!" Ryan announced. "I'll get the girls home, sorry about the game, see you all later."

Zeke and Troy were so busy facing off that they barely noticed the rest of the group shrink away at Ryan's insistence. Jason was glancing between his disappearing friends and his team mates embroiled in the argument. Finally, he chose to stick with the guys – since it had been labelled as a team matter and he was a part of the team.

"What, will it make you feel better if I blame you Zeke? That way you can apologise for fucking up and feel better about yourself?" Troy snapped.

"So you admit it, you think I fucked up," Zeke said triumphantly.

"Yes, you did fuck up!" Troy exclaimed. "But you weren't the only one, no one was playing at their best tonight. Well, except maybe Xavier, that kid was on fire, and I feel sorry for him that the rest of us weren't at our best."

"Troy," Chad said warningly.

"Well you made it pretty clear this morning that you were shitty with me and since then you've been cold. I'd rather that you just put it out there that you're pissed than pretend that you're fine because obviously, you're not," Zeke said bluntly.

"Yeah okay, I think you fucked up. Not playing your best is one thing. But you actively made the decision to go and get smashed less than 24 hours before we played our biggest rivals. This is a team sport, Zeke, every thing you do affects the entire team."

"All right Troy, back the fuck off," Chad demanded.

"Was I talking to you?" Troy snapped.

"No but like you just said this is an issue that affects the whole team. And as a member of that team – and as vice captain - I'm telling you to back the fuck off!"

"What the hell is your problem?" Troy demanded.

"My problem? What is my problem? My problem is that you are acting like an egotistical cock," Chad replied, rather easily.

"Ex-_cuse _me?" Troy exclaimed, his attention suddenly all on Chad.

"Dude, he fucked up. We lost one game. It's not the end of the world. We're not all like you, with our entire world rotating around each win or loss."

"My entire world does not revolve around basketball and you know it," Troy snapped.

"Oh right. Basketball and your girlfriend," Chad corrected himself.

"I don't like your tone," Troy said warningly. "Where the fuck did this come from?"

"Well, to begin with, from when you started jumping down Zeke's throat."

"I didn't want to talk about it, if you recall."

"You jumped down his throat from first thing this morning. Aren't you the one who claims that there are 12 people on the team and no one person is responsible for a loss?"

"I swear I'm just talking to a brick wall here. I just SAID that before! Or weren't you listening to me, as per usual?" Troy snapped. "I SAID that we all fucked up. You fucked up. JC fucked up. I fucked up. Tonight was one big fucking mess which I didn't want to talk about yet and yet you pushed at me to talk about it so excuse me for being a bit edgy."

"Oh okay, I'm sorry, Troy doesn't want to talk about something. So that's the way it goes. Things get discussed when it suits Troy and his schedule. When would you like to sit down and discuss it? How's 4:36 next Tuesday for you? Perhaps we can slot in three minutes of time within your precious schedule."

"Don't be a smart ass Danforth."

"Guys, shut the fuck up. This has nothing to do with anything," Zeke pleaded.

Despite Zeke's earlier agitation, he really hadn't intended for the argument to take this turn. It was a turn that had gone far beyond bickering about the match. It was tapping into far bigger issues, and verging upon becoming irrevocably damaging.

"It has everything to do with everything," Troy said. "What the fuck are you talking about Chad?"

"I'm talking about YOU. Have you even thought about maybe why Zeke went and got trashed last night?" Chad demanded.

"Yes we all know what happened to him and it sucks…"

"I'm standing right here! Don't talk about me and my life as though I'm not right here!" Zeke protested.

Troy exhaled, and turned to Zeke. "Zeke, I get things are rough for you man but…. But this team is something you can turn to and use as a way of getting over it. Yeah I think it blows that you didn't respect this team. But I would have gotten over it, and like I said, it was the whole team at fault. And now I'm suddenly Chad's least favourite person on the planet so…"

"Don't be fucking stupid. There are people I have way bigger issues with than you," Chad snapped.

"But you have _issues _with me now?"

"Yes I do. The biggest of the pile being that I think you need to just get the fuck over yourself Bolton."

"Chad, just drop it," Zeke said.

"No, no dude, I won't drop it, because this is just one drop in the ocean. Bolton, who did we play today?"

"The Knights," Troy responded, in a bored, obvious tone.

"Why do you think that Zeke might have been feeling additionally weird about playing the Knights?"

Troy stared back at Chad for a moment, in confusion. Then it hit him. It hit him in one obvious flash, in one obvious flash that should have been obvious days ago. "Warren."

Sammy Warren, forever more in Zeke's mind to be labelled as 'the other guy.'

Troy turned back to Zeke. "I'm sorry man, I really just totally forgot about it. I forgot that it was him that she…"

Zeke held his hand up. "It's fine."

"No man, it's not, I should have realised."

"Of course you didn't, too wrapped up in your own existence to give a fuck about anyone around you," Chad said under his breath – but loud enough for everyone to hear.

Rage consumed Troy. "What the fuck did you just say?" he demanded, a slight snarl to his tone, hands clenching into fists.

"You heard what I said," Chad spat in return.

"Guys…" Jason began to say.

"Stay out of this Jason," Troy said firmly.

Jason and Zeke exchanged a worried glance.

"I think you both should…" Zeke began to say.

"You stay out of this too," Troy snapped.

"Don't tell me what to stay out of. This started because of me! You're being dumb asses, arguing about nothing because you're both stressed about pretty much everything and taking it out on each other. I'm beat and I'm getting out of here. See you Monday. Jase, you coming?"

Jason looked somewhat torn, before decisively following Zeke.

And then there were two.

Troy and Chad remained glaring at one another, as though conducting a staring contest. Finally, it was Chad who tore his eyes away, exhaling loudly and turning around, swinging his arms in agitation, his hands balled up into fists.

"Chad, would it make you feel better if you just hit me? Because all this is kinda coming out of nowhere. I'm thinking you're just having a shitty week and maybe need to vent some generalised anger in my direction or something. Go on, free shot."

Troy held his arms out wide.

"This is not just out of nowhere," Chad said with gritted teeth. "The fact that you suggest that it is from nowhere is all a part of the problem."

"Well if you've had an issue with me, then why haven't you fucking said something about it?" Troy demanded. "That's what we do Chad! If there's something going on, we fucking call each other on it!"

"What the fuck do you think I'm doing now?"

"Fuck you!!" Troy shouted.

"Fuck you!!" Chad shouted, his voice raising even louder.

"I'm through with this bull shit. I'm outta here," Troy shouted.

And with that, Troy turned his back on his best friend.

"Like I give a fucking shit!" Chad shouted after him.

There was no response.

* * *

Gabriella was pacing backwards and forwards in her room, her hands wringing nervously. Only a lamp and the light from the full moon illuminating the space, she was following the same path throughout the room. By the windows along her balcony, along the foot of the bed, back up the left side of her bed. Reverse the pattern. Repeat.

After the basketball game, she had remained with Taylor and Ryan within earshot, overhearing the argument. The argument which had been between Troy and Zeke; and had somehow eventuated into a giant blow up between Troy and Chad. It was only when Zeke and Jason found them hanging on the nearby bench that they decided to leave, Ryan insisting that the two would maybe now talk and sort things out, that they shouldn't be hanging around to listen. And now, Gabriella was pacing. A part of her wanted to call Troy, check that he was okay. The other part wanted to allow him to cool off.

As the final buzzer had sounded and the Wildcats had lost – Troy looked wrecked. When he emerged from the locker room, he had looked broken. And even just overhearing the conversation – she could hear the hurt and confusion and the vulnerability in his tone. A vulnerability that had edged beyond what she had ever heard from him. The problem was that this was so far out of her grasp. When Troy was stressing about college applications, about balancing his life, about school work – she had some sort of ability to bestow wisdom. Here, she had no clue how she was supposed to fix things. She needed to fix things. Gabriella was a doer. When things were wrong around her, she wanted to intervene and make them better. In particular, with Troy. But she was clueless as to how to help, and yet she desperately wanted to help. And so she nervously paced.

There was a light rapping at her balcony door, and Gabriella whirled around. Half of her felt relief. The other half felt pain. Relief that he was there. Pain upon seeing the look of desperation upon his face. She stepped forward, unlatched the lock, and drew the door open.

"Hi," Troy murmured, somewhat sheepishly.

"Hey," Gabriella replied softly, and stepped back to allow him to enter.

"Did you stay to eavesdrop?" he asked. His tone was flat and empty. "I almost expected you to be hanging at my truck when I got back to it."

"We stayed for a while. We heard most of it. But when Zeke and Jason left, Ryan made us leave with him. He figured that you guys were gonna talk about stuff."

Troy shook his head, his voice lifeless as he responded. "Nope."

"Oh."

It was now Troy who was pacing backwards and forwards. Gabriella perched herself at the foot of her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. In silence, she watched Troy as he followed the same pacing pattern, finally halting in front of her desk. There was a framed photo of their group of friends, taken over summer vacation on the night of the talent show at Lava Springs. He picked up the photo for a moment, peering at it closer.

"Who the fuck does Chad think he fucking is?" Troy asked. "Yeah okay, I fuck up sometimes. He's not perfect. He doesn't win any prizes in the 'bestest most loyal friend' in the world category. All he does is fucking rag on me. And this time I don't even really get why."

He placed the photograph back down on the desk, but didn't dare turn around. The words were tumbling out of his mouth, but he couldn't bare to look at her as he spoke the words. He felt angry and he hated being this guy around her, he hated her seeing him like this. He knew that he needed her but he wasn't sure why or how or whether he should.

"But now… I just don't know where the fuck me and Chad went wrong. And… and… I don't know if I even fucking care to work it out," Troy said. He was speaking quietly, his words a run on rambling stream of consciousness. "I was already at breaking point and the last thing I need is something else to worry about. But that's a part of what Chad is saying, isn't he? How terrible that is, I'm a terrible person. I actually just said out loud that I don't have enough within me to worry about my best friend and whatever the fuck is going on that I don't even get."

"Come here," Gabriella murmured, rising from the bed.

She held her arms out, hugging Troy tightly. At first he just stood still, hands clenched into fists by his sides. There was something wrong about feeling rage, and yet simultaneously melting into her touch. But suddenly, he found himself gripping to her, clutching onto her for dear life. And Gabriella clung to him just as tightly. Hoping that from her love, he could draw at least a meagre amount of strength.

* * *

When some people are upset or angry, they like to listen to calming music. Perhaps the soothing sounds of Enya or Sarah McLachlan. Or alternatively, a happy, peppy song which simply made them feel better about the world.

Chad had one song that he would listen to over and over and over when he was upset. Limp Bizkit, Rollin. There was nothing better than driving along at a speed surpassing the legal speed limit with the sounds of Freddie and the boys. Screaming at the top of his lungs, _where the fuck you at punk, shut the fuck up, back the fuck up before we fuck this track up._ Chad had been about 10 years old when the song had been released, right at the age when his potty mouth first began to form. It was also right around the time when he and Troy latched onto the marvels of the World Wide Web, downloading music that would appear in its censored form on television and that their parents wouldn't let them purchase. He remembered the liberation of singing along to the lyric, out of parental ear shot. It was the feeling of saying something that society considered inappropriate – but it felt so incredibly good.

The cloud began to lift as he drove along, channelling the pent up anger (that really had made him want to throw a punch at his best friend) into the lyric. Finally he was beginning to feeling a semblance of calm wash over him, and headed home.

Approaching his house, Chad spotted a figure on his front door step.

For one moment, he panicked that it was his sister. But he knew that Jayme was definitely at a friend's house. He had confirmed it that morning, he had confirmed it before the game. As Chad drew closer and pulled into his driveway, he realised it definitely wasn't Jayme. Rather, it was Taylor. She rose as his car pulled up, watching cautiously as Chad stepped out of his car and walked towards her.

"Tay?" he asked questioningly. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"It's fucking freezing out here," Chad said. "You should have called, I could have come over."

"Meh. I have a warm coat on."

Chad unlocked the front door and ushered her inside. He glanced around, feeling grateful that he'd spent an hour the night before just generally tidying up. His mom was having a whole day off work on Sunday, and he didn't want her to spend the day cleaning up after her kids.

"What do you want to talk about?" Chad asked.

"Well Chad, you just got into a shouting match with Troy. And as your supposed girlfriend, I wanted to see if you're okay, if you wanted to talk about it or anything."

"I don't," Chad said bluntly. He wasn't in the mood for contrived politeness. "Sorry but…I just don't feel the need to discuss it. To be honest, I'd rather forget the whole thing happened."

"Well obviously you can't do that, you're gonna have to talk to him again sooner or later," Taylor pointed out.

"Yeah but… whatever. Don't want to talk about it," Chad said stubbornly.

Taylor felt personally bruised. As the girlfriend, wasn't it her role to be used as a sounding board? She wanted to believe that it was purely that Chad didn't want to talk about it. But she couldn't help but feel as though it was actually about him not wanting to talk to _her_ about it.

Taylor let out a sigh. "Fine," she said shortly.

"Do you want anything? A drink or…"

"No," she said, a little too quickly.

Chad rolled his eyes, not oblivious to her annoyance. In many ways, Taylor was no different to any of his ex-girlfriends. Nagging at him to talk about this feelings. "It's nothing against you, I just don't like to discuss shit like this. I get that you probably hear all about Bolton whinging to Gab but that's just not me."

"And yet ironically last year before we were dating, you were talking to me about 'shit like this' more often than you do now," Taylor said quietly. She sighed. "I don't expect you to give me a detailed account of every single emotion in your brain. I would like to know if you're okay."

"I'm good Tay. I'm all good."

There was nothing genuine within his tone, he was simply brushing her off. She knew it, and he knew that she knew it. She couldn't handle it. She didn't want to be the nagging girlfriend. But being around him like this was painful. She couldn't just sit with him and pretend that everything was okay. They had supposedly emerged from their rough patch with the newfound intent upon making things work. Shutting down was not an ideal mechanism toward making things work.

"I'm gonna go home now," Taylor said suddenly, turning and walking decisively toward the front door.

"Do you want a lift?" Chad asked automatically, as he followed her.

"No. I'll walk," Taylor's short reply came, as she opened the door.

"Are we still on for tomorrow night?" Chad asked. "Date night, just you and me?"

"I suppose."

"I'll call you tomorrow then."

"Okay. Talk to you then."

Taylor stepped outside and closed the door behind her, not even letting Chad walk her out.

* * *

Lips were entangled in languorous series of kisses. Lips just barely touching, tongues playfully dancing; fingers running through hair; hands clutching at shoulders and waists. The whole world would slip away while wrapped up in each others arms. Nothing else mattered, it was only one another and their love. When they finally pulled away, lips parted, but foreheads remained resting together. She gently nudged her nose against his. Eyes fluttered open, bright blue eyes gazing into chocolate brown.

"What are you doing tonight?" Gabriella asked quietly. "Does your dad want you home?"

"Probably. He likes to go over my games when they are fresh. But… but I can't do that right now. I don't wanna go home at all tonight. I can't… I can't talk to him right now. He's gonna be watching footage of the game and wanting to sit and deconstruct and… and I just can't do that. I'm so tired, Gabriella, I'm just so tired. I can't… I can't do that."

"Stay here."

The words came out of Gabriella's mouth before she even had time to process them, to contemplate the meaning, to contemplate the direct disobedience.

"Stay… here?" Troy asked.

"Just… sleep here. My mom is away this weekend. A fact which I realise I haven't told you and there's a whole separate conversation attached to that which right now, it doesn't matter, I only tell you to justify the point that, if you wanted to, you could sleep here."

"You emphasise the just sleep very vehemently there," Troy murmured. "Is this just because you need to remind me of your monthly 'impairment' or a general need to emphasise the just sleep?"

"Both."

Troy nodded in understanding. "Do you mind? Because…. Because I'd really really like to stay here. Even… even if I just slept on the couch or…"

"I'm sure that won't be necessary," Gabriella said teasingly. "Okay. Do you want dinner? You must be hungry."

"A little," Troy admitted.

Even as he typed the text message to his mother he felt guilty; he was taking advantage of the fact that he knew his mother thought Jack put too much pressure on him.

_Mom, I'm gonna stay at Chads tonight. Dont feel like dads post match analysis. Love you. –Troy._

"Okay. I'll whip something up and then we can talk, if you want. Or not. We could just watch a movie if you would rather not talk about it. Or whatever."

"I don't know what I would do without you. I think I'd be rocking backwards and forwards in the foetal position in a gutter somewhere," Troy remarked.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?"

* * *

Troy and Gabriella had a quiet night, making idle small talk throughout dinner. They cuddled up in the lounge room to watch a movie, but half way through the film, Gabriella noted that Troy was already nodding off to sleep.

"Troy," she whispered, shaking him slightly.

"Did I fall asleep?" he asked, somewhat groggily.

"Yeah. Come on, I'm tired. Let's go to bed."

Troy nodded, and allowed Gabriella to lead him upstairs. "Are you sure you don't want me to sleep in the spare room or…"

Gabriella brought a finger to his lips, silencing him. She retrieved her pyjamas and excused herself to use the bathroom. By the time Gabriella returned, Troy had already stripped down to his boxers and climbed into her bed. He was lying on his side, eyes closed, his body moving slightly under the comforter in time with his steady breathing. Gabriella carefully climbed into the bed in front of him, and reached over to switch off the lamp.

"Closer," Troy murmured, his hand lazily reaching out and falling upon her abdomen.

Gabriella smiled in the darkness, wriggling back until she was nestled into the natural curve of his body.

"Much better."

"Good night."

"I love you."

"Love you more."

* * *

Gabriella awoke with a smile on her face. She reached back behind her, as though instinctively reaching for the warm body behind her. Instead, her hand clamped a hold of her Wildcat stuffed animal Troy had given her for her seventeenth birthday. Her eyes popped open, realising he was gone. She woke up to find a flower on the pillow beside her, with a note.

_Gabriella,_

_Morning beautiful. Thanks for letting me crash here. Off to work now… another fun filled morning of attempting to turn children into golf pros. Come over any time after 1 for the big study session before the much more important date. _

_ILY._

_-Troy xo_

_PS – Hope the Wildcat and Arnie kept you warm after I left_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I have a job interview today. I believe firmly that your reviews equate to luck. :-)


	37. Chapter 36

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Z Rated would be understatement of the century for the first part of this chapter. You may thank me later for the mental imagery, girls. :-P

**

* * *

****Chapter 36**

On Saturday afternoon, Gabriella bound up the Bolton's driveway for her study afternoon with Troy. She had no trepidation in her step. She often liked to reflect upon the growth in her relationship with Troy, and the subsequent comfort she felt with his family – particularly his mother. At the end of January, she had arrived at Troy's early one Saturday morning for a study session. She had felt somewhat terrified. Now, she felt completely at ease.

The wooden door was open but the screen door was locked. Gabriella rang the doorbell, and Troy's mom appeared at the doorway almost straight away.

"Hi honey," Lucille Bolton greeted Gabriella, having anticipated her arrival.

"Hi Lucy," Gabriella greeted her. "Not working today?"

"No, I have the whole weekend off," the older woman replied. She stood back and held the door open for Gabriella to step inside.

"Wow," Gabriella said, genuinely surprised.

"A rarity for me, I know, two days off in a row over the weekend."

"I'll tell Troy to get off his lazy backside and do his own laundry so you might actually get to enjoy your days off then," Gabriella remarked teasingly, as she slipped off her ballet flats by the front door.

"Oh come on now, he's not all lazy, I'll give him that. He's been holed up studying since he got home from work," Lucille said, motioning upstairs. The bass from Troy's music could be heard from downstairs at the opposite end of the house. "I'll tell you, you've done miracles with our boy. Homework, on a Saturday? Almost unfathomable."

Gabriella smiled, indicating to the textbook she was clutching onto. "Yes, I know. But once Troy sets his mind to something…"

"Yes believe me, I know. Can I get you a drink before you go up?"

"I wouldn't mind a glass of water," Gabriella said.

She followed Lucille through to the kitchen, which backed onto the informal living room. Jack Bolton was sitting at the couch, watching video footage from the previous night's game.

"Hi Coach Bolton," Gabriella said, somewhat tentatively.

Jack picked up the remote control, pausing the video.

"Hello Gabriella. Big study plans I hear."

Gabriella nodded. "We have a physics report due at the end of next week that is worth a huge part of our grade. And Troy has a trigonometry exam at the beginning of the week after that, which I've convinced him to start studying for sooner rather than later."

"How was your session at the guidance counsellor?"

"Really really great. I've been researching into colleges and stuff for years, but never on a serious level. There's so much that even I didn't realise was going to be involved in the application process."

"Have your shortlist yet?"

"Still working on it," Gabriella said elusively. "But feeling confident it should all work out."

"Here you go," Lucille said, handing Gabriella a glass of water. She also handed over a can of coke. "You can give that to Troy and then he can't say I never do anything nice for him."

"I can't believe Troy hasn't come down to hijack you," Jack remarked.

"I'm a bit earlier than I said I would be, so he wouldn't be expecting me yet. And like he would have heard me arrive with the music up that loud," Gabriella said. "I don't know how he studies like that, but he claims it works for him."

"Go on up, you know the way," Lucille said, waving towards the staircase. "Would you like some earplugs?"

Gabriella laughed and called back as she headed towards the stairs, "I think I'll manage."

Standing outside Troy's door, the music was so loud that if she spoke out loud, she would barely have been able to hear herself speak. With a satchel over her shoulder, a textbook under her arm, a glass of water in her left and Troy's can of coke in her right hand, she slipped the can into her satchel so she could knock on the door to his room. She waited only a moment before opening the door – she and Troy were beyond the formalities of knocking and waiting politely to be granted access. And he probably would not have heard the knock anyway.

Gabriella was met by the sight of a wide eyed Troy, sprawled out on his bed, scrambling to pull up his boxers and cargo pants. She froze, freeze frame, still clutching onto the door handle as she stared at him, taking an additional moment to process just what it was that she had interrupted.

Troy sheepishly reached over for the remote, turning down the music from his stereo to a volume that facilitated conversation at a normal level.

"Umm… hi," he said awkwardly. "I swear I locked the door before…. before…"

"Umm… obviously not," Gabriella managed to say.

"Can I just say, thank God that you just came in and not my mom."

Gabriella's eyes were fixated upon the rather evident bulge underneath the khaki material. She somehow managed to clear her throat, step down into the room and close the door behind her. She set the glass of water down on the small dresser by the door which housed a lamp and a framed photograph of herself and Troy.

"So umm… you boys… you boys really do just go at it, like… at…. at any given time of day," Gabriella stammered, feeling rather embarrassed.

Troy coughed. "No, we're not that bad. I just uh… I was… feeling a bit… you know. And… and since you were coming over and we actually have plans to study and… and not to… you know. I thought maybe I should take care of the problem before you got here. Undoubtedly, your presence would have only exacerbated the issue."

Gabriella couldn't help but smile at Troy's tact. And he would criticise her for being unable to use direct terminology. When he was essentially saying _I felt horny and decided to wank before you got here coz you being here just makes me hornier. _

Gabriella picked up the glass of water and walked across the room to sit down at his desk. As she walked, she found herself speaking rather boldly, the words just flowing from her mouth.

"Well… don't allow my presence to prevent you from 'taking care of the issue', Troy."

Troy's eyes bore into her. "Pardon?" he squeaked, his voice an octave higher than usual.

She couldn't believe she'd just said the words herself, but suddenly as she contemplated it – it did sound rather interesting. "Well since you hadn't… finished '_taking care'_ of the problem, it's very clearly going to be an issue. And we actually do have a lot of work to get through and something tells me that this isn't going to help."

"It'll go away," Troy said, shifting uncomfortably. "Eventually. The math will help."

"You could just make it go away now."

"While you're here?" Troy asked incredulously, making sure he was interpreting her words correctly. "You… you want to watch?"

She shrugged. "Why not?"

She was attempting to sound breezy and casual but underneath it all, she was anything but. Troy was gaping at her, in a stunned silence.

"If it's going to be a performance anxiety issue," Gabriella teased.

"Uh… no, no. Likely the opposite," Troy confessed. He had no doubt that it would indeed likely be the opposite; and that Gabriella's presence would merely heighten the tension and possibly cause an embarrassingly speedy climax.

"Well if you're going to do it then I'd suggest you hurry up before your mom comes to check if we need anything and pointedly leaves the door open as she leaves the room."

Troy wasn't going to argue any further. The fact was that she was right – there was pent up tension, and being interrupted hadn't done anything to send it away. In fact being interrupted by the very object of his desires was merely intensifying the tension.

"Would you be a sweetheart and go back over and lock the door for me?"

Gabriella giggled, and within a flash she was across the room to pointedly flick the lock shut. "I think subconsciously you wanted me to walk in on you so that's why you didn't lock it."

Troy merely smiled. Gabriella settled herself back into the desk chair. He was quick to lift his weight from the bed so he could push down his trousers and red and white striped cotton boxers, freeing his erect length from its khaki prison. His girlfriend could not be more accurate with her prediction of his mother coming to check on them, he knew that it was inevitable. Lucille liked to wait about fifteen minutes, he suspected so that she gave the appearance that it was a casual enquiry rather than one designed to interrupt or prevent 'activity.' And so therefore, Troy wasn't aiming for a long leisurely wank. His focus was upon the final destination, so he promptly pushed his polo shirt up, reached under his pillow for his very own tube of personal lubricant, applied the adequate amount and grasped his hand around the base of his length.

"Lubricant... should I be using that?" Gabriella mused in a hushed tone. "Wait, don't answer now, I may wind up having lots of questions."

Troy let out half a chuckle at her remark. His first approach was to pretend she wasn't there. He simply closed his eyes as he grasped his hand around the base of his length, allowing the mental imagery to do its job. His slick lubricated hand sliding up and down, at first with a loose grip, then tightening just a little more. The mental imagery of the afternoon featured a naked Gabriella, glistening golden skin, with her delicate hand wrapped around his manhood.

Gabriella knew that wanking was something which teenage boys were a whole lot more at ease with than her own gender. It had been months ago, even before summer, when Troy had first made an innuendo filled comment supporting the notion that he was one of these teenage boys. But there was something very, very, very different about watching him in action. About observing his comfort with his own body, his knowledge and skill. His actions were certain and defined, indicating that he knew exactly what to do to bring about the desired result. His right hand concentrating on his shaft; temporarily switching from the typical fisted position she had been adopting, to what appeared to her as being rather awkward, his hand rotated and gripping at his length from the left. The escalation in his pants and grunts indicated that if the position was awkward as she suspected, it was the last thing from Troy's mind. His free left hand was leisurely toying with his balls, an area which Gabriella had been thus forth somewhat hesitant to experiment with.

The breathing pattern of the Gabriella in his mental imagery had changed from steady and calm, to somewhat ragged; at some point registering in Troy's brain that his fantasy had altered to mirror the very reaction of his Gabriella, the Gabriella who was very present. His eyes fluttered open, and became transfixed on the girl who was intently staring at him. He was mesmerised by the awe which filled her face. She was wide eyed, sitting forward, clutching to the arms of the desk chair. Her presence and her presence alone was enough to spur him through the final leg of the race.

Her soft, smooth legs which at present were clad with silky grey tights, her grey denim skirt riding higher on her thigh than usual. His eyes travelled up her body, drawing in a breath as he took in the way her royal blue cashmere sweater clung to her chest, the dip of the neckline providing a teasing glimpse at her cleavage. He admired the way her ebony curls tumbled down and framed the delicate features of her face. He could not only see but he could _feel_ her soft, full glossy lips; he could feel them on his lips, on his chin, on his neck, on his nipples, on his stomach, and on the very manhood that he was so frantically pumping in a sudden frenzy.

It had been building quickly; in the minutes prior to her interruption, he had been devastatingly close already. But now, he considered her interruption as being a welcome interruption, because the feeling which was building inside was incredible, more incredible than usual. He was sweating, shaking slightly, his skin hot, with an indescribable swell of ecstasy rising within his pelvis. He was now frantically pumping, unbearably close. Troy was subconsciously aware that he needed to be censoring his verbal reaction – he'd had four years of training at the art – and was somehow holding himself back from an undulated groan of ecstasy, instead sufficing with quiet pants and groans, his facial contortions accommodating for the lack of vocal outburst. The final straw, the catalyst pushing him over the edge – was the ever slightest moan which escaped from Gabriella's mouth. That was all it took, the rising swell of pleasure culminating in those few seconds of unobliterated blissful ecstasy, his seed spurting over his abdomen.

Once again he allowed his eyes to flutter closed, savouring the moments of post orgasmic harmony. He lazily reached out for the Kleenex on his bedside table, cleaning up the mess and disposing the evidence into the garbage bin which was also conveniently placed within tossing distance. Once his erection had fully subsided, he was able to tuck himself away and pull up his trousers.

Troy looked up at his girlfriend, who was sitting in a stunned silence. He stood up, and flexed his wrists.

"Okay. Study time," Troy announced, repositioning his trousers.

He looked at her a little closer, noting her dreamy, faraway gaze which was fixated upon the very position where he had been lying just moments earlier. Her chest was heaving slightly as her breathing was still erratic.

"Gabriella?" Troy said questioningly, a smirk on his face. "You okay?"

She tore her gaze from the bed and instead allowed her eyes to meet his. "Uh huh. Great. More than okay."

Troy stepped toward her, taking her delicate hand within his grasp and pulled her to her feet. His middle and index finger came up to her chin, tipping her head up to look at him. Slowly, Troy leaned forward to press a tantalising kiss to her lips.

"That was really, really hot." Troy's lips grazed against her ear as he murmured breathily.

"Yes. Yes it was," Gabriella agreed, her own tone equally breathy.

"Still got your…"

"Yes, barely," she replied, her slight annoyance and lament evident.

"Barely?" Troy asked questioningly.

"Do you _want_ to discuss the details it?"

"No, not really," he admitted. "Sorry… maybe this wasn't a good idea. Although I find it strangely satisfying that you actually found appeal in that."

"Appeal is understatement of the century." She took a breath. "Let's umm… let's just get to the study. My brain needs to be distracted."

* * *

Monica was rapping her fingers against the wooden table, her nails clicking against the surface, imitating the sound of a horse galloping. She stopped tapping her fingers in favour of picking up her phone, shuffling through the menu aimlessly. She then glanced at the time for the fourteenth time in three minutes.

"Hello."

Her head snapped up, hearing his calm, neutral voice greet her.

"H… hi," she stammered. "Thanks for coming."

"I'm the one who asked you if you would meet me here, remember?" Zeke pointed out. "I came into your work this afternoon, and…."

"Yes. I recall," she said softly. "Do you want to order something?"

"I'll get it," Zeke said swiftly.

"A white chocolate…"

"White chocolate mocha with a shot of vanilla?"

"You remembered."

"Course I do. Be right back."

And as Zeke approached the counter to place the order, she was left alone to continue with the fidgeting. The queue was reasonable, and it was less than five minutes before Zeke returned, placing her beverage in front of her, along with a sachet of raw sugar and a stirrer.

"So, how was your day?" Monica asked brightly.

"I didn't ask you here so we could make small talk," Zeke said bluntly.

"Then why are we here?"

"I need to know."

"Need to know what?"

"I need to know why. I realise that you wanted to tell me about it from when I called you two weeks ago and started shouting at you over the phone. But I wasn't ready then and now, I need to know why you did it. Why you picked him over me."

Monica paused, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Firstly – I didn't pick him over you, let's make that clear. I'm not going out with him," she said softly.

"You're not?" Zeke asked, genuinely surprised. "I just assumed…"

"You assumed wrong."

"Oh."

"Do you know what happened when Sammy and I were going out last year?" Monica queried.

"Um… not the details. I just know that you were going out and that you were really upset when you guys broke up."

She nodded. "I was. And… and it was a mutual break up. Things were just rough, we didn't have a lot of time for each other and being from rival schools, there was a lot of tension about a lot of stuff. We basically decided it was too hard. It shouldn't be that hard is what we figured. It should come easy if it was meant to work."

"Why are you telling me this?" Zeke asked impatiently.

Monica sighed. "About a week before… before that day. Sammy called me, just for a talk. We talked a bit over the week and, long story short, he wanted to give it another shot. I told him that it was over, that I was seeing you, that we were happy. He pointed out that we hadn't even hung out since we'd broken up and that he'd love it if we could just hang out, spend some time together. His argument was basically that if we hung out and I didn't feel anything then he would take my word for it and leave me be. And so we hung out. We made plans to hang out during my lunch break and then to meet up after work and hang out. This was when I told you I had a family thing on because… because I knew that you would be upset."

"Rightfully so it seems," Zeke commented bitterly.

"He kissed me at lunch. And… I didn't stop him."

Zeke's eyes narrowed. It took every ounce of self control to not interrupt her story, to not start shouting at her again.

"I think… I think there was a part of my brain which was telling me that if I could kiss him and really not feel that way then I would be proving it to myself that… that maybe you and I really can work. And then he walked me back to work and kissed me again…. Which you heard about. I met up with him after work, and you know what I did?"

"What?" Zeke practically spat out. "You slept with him?"

"No. I told him that I didn't feel it. Sammy is a great friend who I love spending time with. But… but what I feel for you… it's _different_. We've done the dance of flirtation for a while, since before I was with Sammy, you know that. And I know that it was my stupid fault for letting your stupid crush on Sharpay get in the way of pursuing anything for so long. But this time…. I wanted to do it right. And a part of that was getting closure with Sammy. And I know that I fucked up with it. I know that I shouldn't have lied to you in the first place about my plans for that weekend. I know that it wasn't exactly the best judgement to not stop him from kissing me in the first place and I lacked even more good judgement the second time. But for the record… it didn't mean anything. It proved to me that I am crazy about you. And I know I hurt you and… and I'm sorry."

Zeke closed his eyes for a moment. He picked up his mug of hot chocolate, taking a mouthful.

"Okay," he said simply.

"Okay? That's all you've got to say, okay?" Monica said, incredulously.

"What would you like me to say? Maybe if you wrote me a script then I would be able to appease you," Zeke said sarcastically.

"I don't know what I want you to say. Something… something other than okay, I guess."

"Thank you for meeting with me, and for telling me the truth. That's all I want for now." Zeke's voice was even and cold. He downed the remainder of his hot chocolate, carefully placed the mug back down and stood from his seat. "I'll see you Monday."

"Zeke," Monica called after him.

He paused, and reluctantly turned around. "What?"

"Do you think… Do you think we can work past this?"

He sighed. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I believe your story. But… but I just don't know if I can move past it."

* * *

Troy's backyard faced west, and in the afternoon on a nice day, it bathed in beautiful warm sunlight. After completing a large portion of their big physics project, as well as going over some math problems, Troy and Gabriella escaped into the backyard with their musical scripts in hand. Nothing like fresh air to instil inspiration within the creative soul.

It was just a week until their first full rehearsal of _Once Upon A Time_**. **Throughout the various rehearsals they'd been holding, each of the songs had been rehearsed, the majority of the scenes had been run through and they'd choreographed a significant portion of the dance routines. However Troy was experiencing flashbacks to Twinkle Towne. In the lead up to the show, while the seasoned performers and his girlfriend with the photographic memory were performing without a script, he didn't even know the first line of the scene. So an hour was spent going over a few of the key scenes that Troy was having particular problems with.

Once they were both all rehearsed out, Troy disappeared into the house, returning with a bowl of grapes, a jug of water and some glasses. They sprawled out on the grass underneath a maple tree, lying back and staring at the leaves as they rustled in the light breeze. Troy shifted onto his side, propping his head up with his arm, resting his head on his palm. His other hand lazily fell upon Gabriella's stomach, stroking languidly.

"So what is the plan for tonight?" he asked with a smile.

"You said you booked at some ridiculously overpriced restaurant, didn't you?" Gabriella asked, a smirk on her face.

"No, you added the 'ridiculously overpriced' part," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "And I told you that I got this sweet tip so it's fine. But after dinner I mean."

"Let's be spontaneous and just… see what happens," Gabriella declared

"Babe, you and I are two of the least spontaneous people on the planet."

"All the more reason to be spontaneous every once in a while."

"All right then. So tonight, we have plans to go to dinner and then we have planned to be spontaneous," Troy quipped.

Gabriella giggled. "That's right."

He broke a grape from the bunch, holding it up. Gabriella opened her mouth, waiting for the piece of fruit to come soaring through the air. Troy tossed it up, and it fell, bouncing off her cheek.

"I should practice this at home," she grumbled.

Troy smiled, and broke another grape off. He leaned over, popping the grape into her mouth. His fingers lingered slightly, grazing against her bottom lip. Gabriella sucked at the tip of his index finger slightly, before pulling away to chew and swallow the grape.

"Have you talked to Chad?" Gabriella asked cautiously.

"Since last night, I was at your place, then I was at work, after which point I felt a desperate need to wank and so disappeared into my room under the pretence of studying, and then you arrived. When was this miraculous Chad conversation supposed to take place?"

"No need to get shirty," she teased, poking him in the stomach.

"Sorry. And no. No I haven't. I don't even think I want to talk to him. What's to talk about?"

"Isn't that the point of talking? To find out what happened, to find out what there is to talk about?"

"I blame Taylor for all this, you know. Before Taylor, Chad was so simple, straightforward, called a spade a spade. Now, he's all moody and thoughtful and pretends that there's nothing wrong when I know that something is up."

"You blame Taylor? Ironically, Taylor has spent the last few weeks freaking about what is going on with him too."

"She has?"

"Uh huh."

"Oh."

Gabriella glanced at her cell phone. "Okay. I am going to go home and get ready. You said you were picking me up at 6:30?"

Troy nodded. "You sure you don't want me to give you a lift home? Or walk with you?"

"It's fine, really. I'll see you later," Gabriella murmured, pressing her lips to his one last time.

She turned around. "Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"You and I both know that this perfect date night you want to happen is not gonna take place when you're still feeling so negative about last night. Go talk to Chad."

Troy sighed. "Damn you for being right about everything."

* * *

Chad was rifling through his closet, searching in vain for his button down plaid shirt. He sighed in frustration, unable to find it anywhere. It wasn't in the laundry basket in the bathroom – mainly Jayme's stuff was in there – and it wasn't in the pile of dirty clothes in his room. He picked up his own clothes and added them to the laundry basket, and picked it up, storming down the stairs and into the laundry room. He put the basket down and proceeded to pilfer through the pile of laundry that was already in the machine waiting to be washed. Sure enough, there was his shirt. Chad picked it up, brought it up to his face and sniffed. He shrugged.

"It'll do," he said out loud to no one in particular.

Chad glanced back down, and put in as many clothes as would fit into the machine. It would never cease to amaze him how many changes of clothes his ten year old sister managed to go through. At least he had the excuse of being athletically active to explain why he went through more clothing. He tossed in laundry powder and twirled the dial, turning the machine on. The doorbell rang.

"JAYME!" Chad shouted. "CAN YOU GET THAT?"

Chad then opened up the dryer, scooping up a pile of clothes into his arms. The doorbell rang again. Chad sighed in exasperation, and with the armful of clothes, darted up the hallway and to the front door. He peered through the peephole, letting out a small sigh, before struggling to open the door.

"Bolton," Chad said cooly.

Troy looked Chad up and down, examining the pile of laundry with raised eyebrows. "Danforth."

"What do you want?"

"Can I come in?"

Chad shrugged. "I guess."

He turned around, and walked up the hall and into the living room, where he dumped the clothes by the ironing board.

"What's with the domestic spell?" Troy asked.

"Chores," Chad said, as though it were the most obvious explanation in the world.

Troy nodded. "Fair enough. I uh… I thought we should talk."

"What are we, a pair of chicks?"

"Don't be an ass man, I didn't exactly find coming here today to be the easiest thing in the world."

Chad relented. "Sorry."

"So what was last night all about?"

"You tell me."

"Given you were the one who spat the dummy…"

"Look… you were right. I overreacted a little. Truth is I've been a bit stressed lately about a bunch of stuff and I probably did just need to let off some steam," Chad said, trying to simplify the issue.

"Dude, I'm not totally oblivious to your moods. I knew something has been up your ass but… to be honest, I just figured that you didn't wanna talk about it," Troy said honestly.

"A year ago, you would have pushed me about it," Chad pointed out.

"Maybe," Troy conceded. "I also figured that maybe you were just talking to Taylor about stuff."

Chad snorted. "The fact that Taylor and I aren't exactly going brilliantly is a part of the problem, man."

"You aren't? I thought things were cool now."

"I dunno." Chad sighed. "We're going out tonight, I'm hoping we can try to sort some shit out."

"Oh. Okay then. Was there anything else going on?"

Chad paused. "Lots of little stuff. Nothing major. Mom's still upset about David leaving. My car keeps breaking down and so I'm doing an extra shift each week at the grocery store to pay to get shit fixed. Things are weird with Tay. School is a fucking nightmare, between my classes and the pressure from the guidance people. You're running around trying to be twelve people at once, Zeke is depressed and Jason… well, who ever knows with Jason, he won't even talk about what's happening with him and Kelsi."

"We're not here talking about me or Zeke or Jase."

Chad sighed. "I'm okay, Troy. I'm stressed out of my mind like everyone else, but I'm okay. I just lost it for a bit last night. It's cool. We're cool. Now… I'm actually really busy so if you don't mind…"

"Right. Got it. I'm out of here," Troy said with a curt nod. "Big date planned tonight myself anyway."

Chad was just standing with his arms folded over his chest.

"I'll let myself out then," Troy remarked.

Chad nodded. "Thanks for stopping by."

And he scooped up the load of laundry and walked away.

* * *

Gabriella had scoured over the dessert menu at the restaurant for ten minutes before deciding that what she really wanted was an ice cream sundae – an item they didn't have for offer on the menu.

"Ice cream it is then," Troy declared.

"See, this is spontaneity. I bet you didn't expect we'd wind up going to the ice cream parlour," Gabriella declared.

Troy smirked and grabbed the waiter as he passed, requesting their account be brought over. Troy narrowed his eyes as Gabriella went through the motions of opening her handbag and retrieving her purse.

"Don't even think about it," he said warningly.

Gabriella pouted but sensed that the argument was lost before it even began. As far as arguments went, it was one they held consistently, but it was an argument she didn't mind losing. It was like a game. When Troy hadn't been looking she left a twenty dollar bill on his backseat about a week earlier, only to have Troy return it to her the next time he saw her, sliding it into her jeans pocket as they were kissing.

"It's such a pretty night, why don't we walk? It's just up the street," Gabriella said, once they emerged from the restaurant.

Troy was more than agreeable, and hand in hand the young couple proceeded to stroll up the street. It was only a few minutes walk to the ice cream parlour. Troy and Gabriella were just across the street from the store, about to cross over, when Gabriella grabbed onto Troy's arm.

"Troy!" Gabriella hissed.

"Hmm?"

"Look!"

She gestured wildly inside the parlour, where Jason and Kelsi were sitting in one of the window booths. She took a giant spoonful of ice cream, in the process a little whipped cream attaching itself to the crook of her smile. Jason said something, and she brought her hand up to the opposite side of her mouth. He smiled and reached across, wiping at it gently with his index finger, licking the cream away.

"They're so cute!" Gabriella squealed.

"Jason you dog. He didn't even tell us they were going out again. Let's go say hi," Troy suggested.

"Maybe… maybe they don't want people to know they're seeing each other."

"Gabriella, they're sitting at a booth in the most popular ice cream store in town just after dinner time on a Saturday night. In the window I should add. If you're trying to hide a relationship or… or whatever is going on with them, that's not how to do it."

"Okay, I'll give you that," Gabriella conceded. "But I don't want to interrupt. Let's just go in and pretend we didn't see them."

Troy rolled his eyes but he wasn't going to argue with her. He pulled at the door handle, holding it open for Gabriella to step inside. He and Gabriella approached the counter, placing their orders. Gabriella won the argument that she was going to pay – after all, Troy paid for dinner which cost a whole lot more than two ice cream sundaes. They then turned around, examining the room in contemplation of which booth to nab.

"Gabriella!" Kelsi's voice rang out.

Gabriella and Troy looked over, seeing Kelsi waving excitedly and Jason smiling at them.

"Told you they'd want to say hi," Troy said under his breath.

"Hey, how you going?" Gabriella called out, as she and Troy approached.

"Sup guys," Troy greeted them, holding out his hand to Jason for a complicated teenage boy handshake.

"Do you want to sit?" Kelsi asked, shuffling down toward the window.

"Oh, we don't want to intrude," Gabriella said.

"No it's fine," Jason insisted. "Unless you guys wanted to be alone."

Troy sat down, sliding along to sit beside Kelsi. "Please, I spend nearly every waking hour with this one. I will revel in different company."

"Hey! That's not nice!" Gabriella exclaimed, mocking hurt.

"Eh, you love me," Troy said cockily.

"That can change if you keep being mean to me," Gabriella said teasingly.

"I'm sorry."

"And?"

"I'm sorry and I'll never be mean again."

"And?"

"I'm sorry, and I'll never be mean again, and you are very beautiful, and I love you?"

"Wow, you've been trained well, haven't you dude?" Jason remarked.

Kelsi giggled. "Gabriella, you'll have to give me pointers."

* * *

Meanwhile, Taylor and Chad were sitting across from one another in a local diner. They'd gone to the movies, catching an early screening, and were now having a late dinner. For an hour, they'd made small talk about the film they'd seen, drama class, talked about Zeke and Monica, and discussed the current season of _American Idol_. They'd avoided talking about anything real; Taylor hadn't even touched Chad blowing her off the previous night or his argument with Troy. The waitress returned with refills on their soft drinks, which then served as a welcome reprieve from forced conversation. Taylor was suddenly fascinated by the way she could swish her straw about and cause the ice cubes to move. Chad observed her restlessness, which only served to exacerbate his own restlessness.

"So have you decided about the yearbook committee yet?" Chad asked casually, desperate to engage Taylor in some type of conversation she would feel animated about.

Taylor shook her head. "Applications are open til Tuesday, I won't decide til after that."

"Oh."

Taylor's eyes shifted around the room, suddenly somewhat fascinated with the 1950's decor.

"So your debate is on Wednesday night huh? Do you wanna tell me about it?"

"Uh yeah, it's at Crossville High. It's short preparation, so we arrive and have two hours to prepare for it."

"What time is it at?"

"Debate starts at 6:30."

Chad bit his lip. "I should be able to come."

"You don't have to."

"No really, I want to," he insisted.

"Well… umm… yeah I guess you can come. You might find it boring."

"Come on, I know you don't exactly love basketball but you support me in that."

Taylor nodded, but didn't respond. She picked up the drinks menu on the table, scouring over the choices of liqueur.

"So did I tell you that I finally started working on one of my college applications," Chad said.

"You did? Which college?"

"UNM," Chad responded.

"Oh. Did you look at the paperwork I brought you back from Boston University?" Taylor asked.

"Um no I didn't, not yet. But… but I will," Chad said.

"This isn't working," Taylor blurted out.

Chad stared at her, blinking. "What, my college application method? If you really want me to look at the shit from Boston I can do it tonight, I…."

"This you and I Chad," Taylor clarified patiently. "Us, it's not working."

"I know it's been rough but…"

"I don't want to make a melodramatic scene out of this. The fact is that we both know that it's not working. Let's not pretend that it's been fine and that it's just a glitch in the transition from friends into more," Taylor said quietly.

Chad stared at her, feeling completely gob smacked. The fact was that he couldn't deny that things weren't brilliant between them. But he most certainly hadn't been planning to end the relationship. As long as he was in even a pseudo relationship with Taylor, he felt like there was a semblance of normalcy within his life. However it wasn't Chad's style to beg, and he knew Taylor enough to sense the finality in her tone.

"Okay," Chad said simply. "I can tell that you're serious. I guess I thought that maybe you also wanted to try to work things out but… if you don't, then that's cool."

Taylor was a little hurt. She had really anticipated that Chad would at least try to fight about it a little, argue for at least 60 seconds that she was being ridiculous and overreacting.

"I.. it's not that I don't want things to work out but I just don't see it happening right now. Everything is so crazy, we barely have time for one another, which isn't making the whole fixing the relationship thing easy. I think it's better we just admit it's going wrong now rather than keep pretending and then just totally fuck everything up even more."

He nodded. "Right then. I see."

"Are you okay?" Taylor asked quietly, reaching over to touch his hand. Chad retracted his hand from the table quickly, out of her grasp.

"I'm all good. Like you said, we both know it's not working."

"It's not."

"I know."

"Okay then."

"Okay I'm uh… I'm gonna go sort out the bill and I guess I'll take you home then."

"Here let me give you money for my half," Taylor insisted.

Often, they would banter for a while and Chad would eventually give in and let her pay at least a little. Normally he would swallow his pride on a day when he'd been to the ATM and attempted to withdraw fifty dollars and it wouldn't let him; he would then try forty dollars with no luck; finally thirty dollars would work. This time, he held his hand up.

"I've got it."

* * *

Chad entered his house after dropping Taylor off at home. He could hear the television blaring in the lounge room, and poked his head in. He found his mother asleep on the couch, the packaging from her TV dinner still on the coffee table along with the dregs of a glass of wine. He reached over for the remote to flick off the TV. Chad then grabbed a throw blanket that was scrunched up on the armchair, and carefully spread it over his mother's sleeping body. He picked up the wine glass, cutlery and garbage, taking them to the kitchen.

He trudged up the stairs to his room, knocking on Jayme's door along the way.

"Come in," Jayme called.

Chad poked his head in, observing his sister tucked into bed, reading a novel. "Just checking in."

Jayme smiled. "Hey BB. Just reading before bed."

Chad grinned at Jayme's nick name, being a shortened form of 'big brother.' "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't."

"Good night."

He closed the door quietly and trudged down to his own room. Immediately he was met by the sight of dozens of school books and papers and college prospectus information that he had thrown onto the bed that afternoon. The theory was that if it physically impeded his ability to sleep, then maybe he might take notice of some small amount of the information. He perched on the edge of the bed and proceeded to sort through the piles of stuff.

He was upset, granted. He'd entered into the relationship with Taylor with fairly high hopes. And for a while, it really had felt right.

But at that moment in time – Chad felt relieved. He felt relieved because as much as he wanted everything to work out with Taylor, he didn't have the energy within to fix it. It was taking every bit of energy just to get through the day, without dealing with complicated relationship issues which he knew were largely self inflicted. But you lie in the bed you make, so they say.

He took a deep breath, and picked up the college prospectus for Boston University, flipping straight to the post it noted athletics section.

* * *

Meanwhile Taylor was sitting in front of her dresser, methodically brushing her hair. Ten strokes on the right, ten strokes on the left, ten strokes at the back, repeat. She went over to her desk to sit in front of her laptop. She switched on the power button and as she waited for it to load, she flipped open her Physics textbook to begin with the reading they had been assigned.

A knock came at her bedroom door.

"Honey?" Mrs McKessie called through the door.

"Come in," Taylor called, and swirled around in her desk chair.

Her mother came in, taking a seat on her bed. "Just checking in."

"Oh. Yes. Hello, I'm here," Taylor said with a smile.

"You're home early. A whole two hours before curfew," her mother remarked with raised eyebrows.

Taylor shrugged. "Uh huh. No big deal."

"Is everything okay with you and Chad?"

Taylor hesitated before lying through her teeth, "Fine, really."

"Okay then, I'll leave you to your homework. Good night honey."

"Night mama."

The bedroom door closed in a soft click as her mother departed the room. Taylor swung back around in her desk chair. Her laptop had finished loading. Her desktop wallpaper was staring back at her. Her desktop wallpaper being a photo of her and Chad from over summer. She closed the laptop with a sudden vigour. Her eyes were suddenly filled with tears. Feeling numb, Taylor walked over to her neatly made bed, pulled back the comforter, and collapsed beneath the warmth of the material. She clutched her fluffy brown teddy bear to her chest, and she wept.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Bites fingernails._ Review please... - Dani xo


	38. Chapter 37

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

* * *

**Chapter 37**

"So just from this yelp across the room she like freaks out and jumped a mile. Then she drops the ball, and what happens? Somehow it went down the lane, crawling along, but of course it's centred perfectly. And she gets a strike!" Troy exclaimed. He jumped up to perch on the rim of the 'E' pillar fountain.

"I planned it that way. It's a technique," Gabriella insisted, poking her tongue out at Troy.

Jason laughed. "The Montez swing?"

"That's catchy," Kelsi said brightly.

"I still won the game though," Troy pointed out cockily.

"What did you guys get up to after your ice cream?" Gabriella asked.

"Just went to the cinema," Jason said.

"Jason kept whispering analysis of camera technique to me," Kelsi said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey! You said that was…" Jason trailed off, and gestured over toward the drop off zone. "Is that Taylor?"

"Yup," Gabriella confirmed, watching as her friend stepped out of her sisters' car.

"Hi Taylor," Kelsi called out cheerfully. "How was your weekend?"

"Isn't Danforth coming today?" Jason asked, aware that since Chad had gotten his car, he had driven Taylor to school each day.

Taylor shrugged, looking somewhat uncomfortable. She continued walking, only slowing down her gait to converse with them briefly. "I don't know. I have to go meet Dean about the yearbook so I'll see you all in homeroom."

"Are you gonna let me work on the committee?" Troy called out. "Coz if you're not, I have to work on a back up plan."

Taylor glanced back as she walked away. "Umm yeah probably. I'll let you know for sure."

Gabriella squeezed Troy on the shoulder. "See you in homeroom," she said, and rushed after Taylor.

"Are you really meeting with Dean?" Gabriella enquired, as she caught up to her friend and walked along side her.

Taylor shook her head. "No."

"What happened?"

Taylor took a breath. "I broke up with Chad on Saturday," she revealed quietly.

Gabriella's mouth dropped open, gaping at her friend. "WHAT?!" Her voice had risen in octaves, to the point that everyone in the surrounding area was watching the girls in curiosity. Gabriella winced, realising that her reaction had been a bit more vocal than intended. "Sorry. I mean, what?"

Taylor nodded. "Yeah…. You heard me the first time."

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked, rubbing Taylor's arm comfortingly. She'd known that the relationship hadn't been going well, and she'd known that Taylor hadn't been completely happy. However Gabriella hadn't realised that it had gotten to this point.

Taylor's head was held up high. She smiled at someone and waved as they passed in the main entrance into the building. "Well I said that I broke up with him so…"

"That doesn't mean that you're okay with it," Gabriella replied knowingly.

Taylor and Gabriella's eyes met. Taylor knew that of all people, Gabriella understood. It had been Gabriella who had broken up with Troy during summer vacation. It had been Gabriella who had gone home and cried; who had loafed about in her room wearing her pyjamas; who had spent hours standing on her balcony in some ill conceived hope that time could spin back and the sweet boy who had appeared on her balcony and sang and made everything better would reappear. Gabriella knew all about being the instigating party in a break up and nevertheless feeling like crap about the entire situation.

"It was the right thing to do," Taylor said decisively. "It wasn't working. And if we kept trying to make it work, it was just going to explode in our faces. Better it is ended amicably now than waiting for it to completely implode."

"Wow. I um… I understand. I really do. I just… I wasn't expecting it. I really didn't realise you were feeling that extreme about it," Gabriella said, totally surprised.

"I guess Chad didn't tell Troy since you guys had no idea about it," Taylor mused.

"Was Chad okay?"

The girls reached Taylor's locker, which she opened and began to root through, searching for a book to add to her wheelie-bag.

"He seemed fine to me. A little too quick to agree to it, he didn't really try to argue about it at all. I guess that just validates that it was indeed the right thing to do. If it was worth fighting for, wouldn't we have fought for it?"

Gabriella paused. "Don't you think it was worth fighting for? I mean… do you still feel for him, you know, more than as a friend?"

"Yes. But sometimes that's not enough," Taylor said simply. "Besides, it comes at a good time, I really need to be focusing on school, and with you guys picking me to chair the yearbook committee and being on the debate team and college applications – it'll give me more free time. I won't feel as bad about not hanging around during lunch and whatever else."

The warning bell rang, and the girls made their way up the corridor to homeroom.

"Things are going to be all weird now, aren't they?" Gabriella remarked wistfully. "Like… with our group."

"I'll be busy with stuff anyway," Taylor said, somewhat aloofly.

"Have you talked to him since then?"

She shook her head. "No.

They rounded the corner and entered homeroom, scraping in just a minute before the bell. The rest of their crew was already there, minus Chad. It was a peculiar vibe. Jason and Kelsi were talking; and Ryan and Martha were talking. Despite puppy dog eyes from Monica, Zeke was sitting staring intently at a book in front of him. He chose to not turn around and talk to Troy, due to left over animosity there from Friday night. Leaving Troy to stare at Chad's empty seat in front of him.

"Has Danforth texted you?" Troy asked Taylor.

Standing just behind Taylor, Gabriella was making frantic motions indicating that he should not bring up Chad, motions that were lost on Troy.

"No," Taylor replied simply.

Saved by the bell, Taylor and Gabriella quickly scurried to their seats to escape the wrath of Darbus. A wrath which became centralised upon Chad who arrived two minutes after the bell, clearly frazzled, almost tripping over as he fell into the room.

"Danforth!" Ms Darbus snapped.

"I'm sorry Ms Darbus your majesty but I…"

"I don't care. I do not accept tardiness in my classroom, something which I am certain you would have ingrained into your brain over the years. I'll see you after school for detention."

"But Ms Darbus I…"

"Don't push my patience Danforth. Sit down!"

Chad exhaled and stalked up the back to collapse into his seat. His eye line was focused straight forward, not daring to look in the slightest to his left at where Taylor was seated. Between Chad's evident ignorance of Taylor and Gabriella's crazy hand motions earlier, Troy was now looking backwards and forwards between Chad and Taylor questioningly. Sitting behind the two, Troy was accustomed to Chad attempting to distract Taylor; and Taylor sitting upright and giving the appearance that she was listening, but really throwing sideways flirtatious glances at Chad. Gabriella was quick to clarify the situation for Troy, she scribbled a quick note to toss onto his desk and outline the development – or rather, the _un_development. Troy's mouth fell open slightly, as he glanced at Gabriella in disbelief. Gabriella nodded wistfully.

Chad's plan was to jump up the moment that the bell signalled the end of homeroom and make a run for it, however Taylor was quick to grab at his arm.

"Hey," she said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Hi," Chad returned, cautiously.

"How are you?"

"Fine. And you?"

"I'm good."

The curt, forced exchange was followed by awkward silence.

"So uh… better get to class. I'll uh… see you later," Chad finally said, and made his escape from the classroom.

Meanwhile just outside, Gabriella, Troy and Ryan were all waiting; Ryan having his next class with Chad; and Gabriella and Troy with Taylor.

"Taylor broke up with Chad," Gabriella informed Ryan quietly.

"Yeah I know," he said.

"You knew?" Troy asked incredulously.

"Chad and I were chatting online last night, comparing notes for our chemistry homework. He mentioned it."

And now the moment of awkward silence was between Troy and Ryan; with Troy staring at Ryan with a sudden resurgence of envious contempt. However the moment was broken by Chad exiting the classroom, stalking straight past them. Ryan scurried after Chad, leaving Troy and Gabriella to meet Taylor who was just now stepping out of the classroom.

"So let me guess. In the time between when I told Gabriella and now, she's managed to tell you and get you all riled up at me," Taylor remarked.

"The 'tell me' part yeah, but the riled up?" Troy said questioningly.

"Come on Troy, this is why people within friendship groups dating is a bad idea. Because now, your loyalty lies with Chad and I'm the girl who just dumped him and so that makes me evil, right?"

"Glad to know you think I'm that naïve and narrow minded," Troy remarked. "As a matter of fact, I was going to ask if you were okay."

"I'm fine," Taylor said shortly. "Come on, let's get to physics."

* * *

At East High, news tended to spread quickly. Especially news which had anything to do with someone prolific, socially. A break up between a member of the Varsity basketball team and his girlfriend was practically worthy of a memo being handed to each and every student. The cattier members of the cheer squad were ecstatic having not only Zeke but also now Chad back at their disposal; fawning around both of the boys with offers of 'study sessions' and social engagements. Neither of them was particularly reciprocal, however were more than willing to smile and be interested enough to continue to pique their interest.

Taylor was having people stare at her with sudden looks of sympathy. The same girls from the cheer squad that she saw flirting with Chad in the hallway would approach her and ask, 'how ARE you?' in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Lunch period came, and Taylor emerged from the cafeteria linewith her tray of food. She hadn't really thought through the process, just going along like it was just any other day of the week. When she scanned across the cafeteria seating area, Taylor bit her lip, suddenly occurring to her what the predicament was. Their usual table was currently inhabited by Zeke, Chad and Jason. A musical rehearsal was being held, with Kelsi, Troy, Ryan and Gabriella currently not present. Taylor had no idea where Martha was. Taylor was staring over at their table, and quickly did an about face heading in the opposite direction. She spotted Jerome and the rest of her debate team, who waved upon seeing her heading their way.

Chad glanced up, seeing the very end of Taylor's hesitation and her snap decision to head in the opposite direction.

"Chad? So what do you think?" Zeke said, interrupting Chad's thought process.

Chad glanced back at Zeke. "Yeah man sounds good."

* * *

"Nina, I really think that you and I could be great together!" Ryan declared. "You just seemed so into me but now…"

"I WAS into you Nate, I truly was!" Gabriella responded sympathetically. "But… things have changed. I've changed."

"You're still the same Nina to me."

"But I'm not, you just don't see the real me."

Across the room from Ryan and Gabriella; Sharpay and Troy were also rehearsing a scene.

"I think the ball is going to be wonderful Mike. Just think, you, me, the music, some dancing…"

Troy stared blankly back at Sharpay.

"Some dancing…" she prompted again, through gritted teeth.

"Uh… can I get a prompt?"

"Troy!" Sharpay snapped. "This is ridiculous. Rehearsals aren't here to provide time to memorise lines, they provide time to run through scenes! We have been going over this scene for a _month_ now. A _whole month_."

"I know, I know," Troy said apologetically. He winced, not particularly fond of being at the receiving end of the wrath of Sharpay. "And it's not like I'm not trying here! Ask Gabriella, we spent lots of time over the weekend running lines."

"I don't care! You're wasting our time. Ms. Darbus isn't going to be happy when she comes to meet us after lunch during free period."

"That I also know. Look, I promise that…"

"Not good enough,' Sharpay interrupted him.

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked, she and Ryan coming over to attempt to mediate the dramatics.

"No really I…" Troy began to insist.

"You made all these excuses last year!" Sharpay exclaimed. "And like a week before the show, you _still_ didn't know your lines!"

"Shar you're being a little unreason…" Ryan began to say; however Sharpay held her hand up to her brother silencing him.

"I'm not letting him fuck up my final fall production."

"You're not _letting_ me? What are you planning to do, memorise the lines for me and practice ventriloquism?" Troy demanded.

Sharpay put a hand on her hip, staring at Troy witheringly. "No. I am going to teach you _how_ to memorise your lines."

"What do you mean _how_ to memorise?" Troy repeated. "You just… memorise."

Sharpay exhaled. "Troy. If I wanted to learn how to play basketball…"

"God help us all,' Troy muttered.

She looked at him sharply. "If I wanted to learn how to play basketball, would you me to just go out and start playing? To just pick up the ball and toss it around randomly?"

"No but Sharpay, some people are saying that there is a difference between basketball and musical theatre," Troy pointed out in a condescending tone.

"Troy, I am president of the drama club and I have been studying the performing arts since I was three years old. I am standing here telling you that I know legitimate techniques that will help you. Are you going to listen to me and let me help you; or are you going to be an egotistical dickhead?"

"Are they my only two options?"

"Yes! And if you know what's good for you then you'll pick the right one. I'm sick of your whining, 'oh no, I'm Troy Bolton, my life is so stressful, I'm the big varsity basketball star and my loving girlfriend is forcing me to take difficult classes, boo hoo!'" Sharpay's voice became high and whiny as she imitated Troy.

"Do I sound like that?" Troy asked, glancing toward Ryan and Gabriella.

"Troy!" Sharpay snapped.

Troy exhaled noisily. "Fine. Help me. Go on. Do your magic."

"It's not that simple. We're going to work on a few different techniques. The first one is that over the next two days, you need to record all of your scenes in the show. You need to record it with the opposite actors, and when you are speaking – using the script since you are so hopeless – you need to have the microphone switched off, leaving a blank in the recording. This will give you a proper tool for rehearsing when you don't have the other people present."

Troy nodded. "Right. That makes sense."

"Secondly. You need to stop focusing on what line comes next. Acting isn't only about memorizing lines. You need to understand what the scene is about, and how your character is feeling. You shouldn't need a script, worst comes to worst on show night, you should be able to improvise the entire thing, just in response to what we say. In this scene, for example. What's it about? Tell me what happens."

"It's about… it's about Esmeralda flirting with Mike and Mike being all awkward about being honest that he'd rather go to the ball with Nina."

"And so if Esmeralda was talking about how much fun it would be to dance together, what might Mike say?"

"He might… he might say he'll have to save her a dance. Thinking just the one… or… or that he will make excuses on the night to get out of it."

"That's pretty much the line," Ryan jumped in.

"It is?"

"You instinctively knew that, you're familiar with the script obviously, and you instinctively knew then how Mike would behave. Shar is right, you spend too much time trying to work out exactly, perfectly how the next line is meant to come out," Ryan said.

Troy smiled brightly. "Fantastic. Problem solved. Good tips guys. So…"

"There's more," Sharpay snapped.

"Oh," Troy said meekly.

"From now on, every time you practice a scene, you need to be going through the full motions of blocking. Making every last movement, walking across the stage if you're meant to be walking across the stage. Even if it's just you and whoever else is in the scene standing there, you need to be miming it. You're a physical person, you're going to work better if you can associate actions with lines. You might know that after Gabriella picks up the picture frame, she starts speaking about her grandparents. And you know that after she speaks about her grandparents, you're meant to walk toward the door. And you know that after you walk toward the door, she calls out to you and you turn around. It's a flowing pattern, okay?"

In theory, Sharpay's ideas so far made sense to Troy. He could understand that in theory, it should be useful to utilise such techniques. However he was doubting whether in practice if they would be of any use to him. Nevertheless, Troy simply nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay. Practicing in full."

"And I have one last one which works really well for some people, my speech and drama coach taught this one to me. It's kind of like a visualisation exercise, you're training your brain to learn the lines. You have to practice your part while you are doing something perfectly mundane and natural. So, for me it's while I brush my hair. Gabriella might do it while she's… you know…. Doing math. You become so familiar with the lines that they are almost, conversational in nature."

"So like, while I'm shooting hoops?" Troy suggested. He wasn't even able to mask his doubt at this suggested method.

"Exactly," Ryan said, nodding in agreement. "It's an awesome technique."

Gabriella's lips were curved into a fascinated smile as she watched Sharpay in action. Her own style of performance may be melodramatic, but there was no doubt that Sharpay knew what she was talking about; that her double digits of school productions – plus a few through theatre class independent of school – had taught her more than a few things about the art of performance.

"What are you smiling at?" Sharpay asked her in an accusing tone. "Do you not believe that these are legitimate techniques?"

The smile wiped from Gabriella's face. "Actually Sharpay I do believe that they are."

Sharpay bristled. "Whatever."

Ryan and Troy glanced at one another, sensing the tension and feeling the need to diffuse it.

"So how about we get our hands on a tape recorder so we can start recording some of these scenes, huh," Ryan said cheerfully. "We will have Kelsi with us in about…" he glanced at his watch. "Ten minutes, once lunch ends and she finishes with the band. I'm sure she can help out with that."

"We should be able to borrow it from the library, I'll go check it out," Gabriella volunteered.

"I'll go with…" Troy began to say.

"No. You can stay rehearse," Ryan suggested. "Keep working on that scene."

Troy was about to protest but he sensed that Ryan had taken off his _friendish acquaintance_ badge and replaced it with his _assistant director_ badge; and so merely nodded agreeably. He waited until Ryan and Gabriella had left the room before turning back to Sharpay.

"What was with the sudden melodramatic bitch attack before?" he remarked. "You could have just asked me if I would like some advice about how I can memorise my lines."

"You just ticked me off is all. Besides, when I have ever been known to calmly make a suggestion?"

Troy smirked. "Good point."

* * *

East High School's academically inclined students had nearly always pulled together socially. Even since the slight upheaval of school social standings, the fact remained that certain people simply click better with other people. Taylor might have been spending her general social time with a very different group of people but in senior year, she'd found herself increasingly spending time with a new group of people. The kids from her debate team who she spent her free periods with, and quite a few hours after school in preparation for the upcoming tournament. She clicked with them on the intellectual level but they were also vibrant people. Debaters and public speakers form their own subset within the academically inclined. Not only did they possess intelligence but they also exhibited confidence and had a certain level of wit about them.

So Taylor wound up hanging with her new friends and teammates throughout the lunch period, and then the majority of the team headed to Global Studies class. There was this length of time where for over an hour, Taylor didn't feel the judging eyes of East High upon her. Even Gabriella – who Taylor knew would support her no matter what – had that glint of disappointment in her eye. It wasn't disappointment in Taylor, but rather disappointment that the relationship didn't work out. Anyone within their immediate friendship group who was friends with both Chad and Taylor was ultimately going to feel that way about the break up. And so hanging with friends she had forged independent of their group was exactly the breath of fresh air that Taylor needed.

All Taylor had to do was get from Global Studies to her final period drama class, and hopefully she should be able to avoid any more sympathetic cheerleader remarks. The weirdness with Chad and their other friends she could deal with. The fake sympathetic cheerleader remarks were almost unbearable. It was a short walk, up the corridor, turn right, then the third door on the left. But of course, life couldn't swing things in the right direction. The door to her classroom was in sight when she spotted Kayla walking towards her. Kayla who seemingly, Taylor now had something in common with. They were both ex-girlfriends of Chad's.

"Taylor!" Kayla said sweetly, grabbing Taylor by the arm. "I just wanted to ask how you are."

"I'm good… thank you," Taylor said warily.

"I heard about Chad breaking up with you," Kayla added, her tone indicative of a rather put on concern.

Taylor narrowed her eyes. In that moment, she felt a seething anger. The sympathetic murmurs all day had led her to believe that the circulating rumours had perhaps mixed up some of the facts pertaining to the break up. Such as who had broken up with who. In that moment she couldn't decide whether to be angry at Chad for letting people believe that he had broken up with her; or to be angry with Kayla for actually being so petty and so vindictive that she would actually feign any sort of remorse over the break up.

"I'm fine," she finally said, gritting her teeth.

She could have corrected Kayla but Taylor had enough self pride to not need to clarify such factors.

"Are you sure? Because I know that break ups can be tough and if there is anything that I can do…"

"Well yes, having been dumped by Chad yourself you do have a certain expertise in the area," Taylor commented.

Kayla's eyes widened, her mouth gaped open in complete disbelief that Taylor would actually make such a remark.

"That she does," a voice said from behind Taylor.

Taylor spun around to see Chad, Zeke and Jason, all heading for the same classroom.

"Maybe you can give me some tips on how to get over being dumped Kayla," Chad added in a mockingly suggestive tone.

"Say what?" Kayla asked incredulously.

"Well since I dumped you and now Taylor has dumped me," he elaborated.

Taylor's head snapped to stare at Chad. Kayla meanwhile was in complete shock. A small smile curved onto her face. She cleared her throat and went to walk away, as she passed Taylor muttering, "Well aren't YOU stupid."

Taylor cleared her throat. "You didn't have to tell her that."

"It's the truth though. And I know that the rumour mill is stating other wise, but for the record, I had nothing to do with that."

"Umm… I never thought you did," Taylor said nervously.

"Yeah, right," Chad said, with raised eyebrows.

Taylor relented, admitting, "Okay there was a brief moment where I thought maybe you'd let people believe you ended it but… but I do know how this school operates and that they would just assume it went that way."

"Why would they assume that?" Chad countered.

"Come on Chad," Taylor said, clearly exasperated. "I know things have changed but seriously? We'd broken up for less than two days and you already had girls fawning all over you today. Of course people are going to assume that it was the other way around."

"And that bothers you," Chad said.

Taylor shrugged. "It bothers me more that people think it is their business to speculate about our relationship. I really couldn't give a shit what they think about me."

"Well you've certainly never minced your words, have you?"

Taylor gave him a tight smile. "We'd better get into class.'

* * *

The final bell of the day was met with a collective sigh of relief by all. Chad was the first to leap out of his chair and make a sprint for the front door. Troy hastily farewelled Gabriella with a soft kiss and a promise to call her later and sprinted after Chad.

"Dude, wait up!" Troy called after Chad.

Chad turned around. "What's happening?"

"Since we're going to the same place and all, thought you might want to head over there together," Troy said casually.

Chad nodded. "Whatever. Let's go, Coach will go ape if we're late today. No doubt he's gonna grill our asses after Friday's match."

Troy nodded. "Yeah probably." He kept in step with Chad as they headed to the gym in relative silence, only speaking a few times when someone greeted them in the hallways. Just before they reached the gym, Troy pulled Chad aside.

"Dude… are you gonna talk about it?" Troy finally asked, shuffling his feet.

"It?" Chad said, feigning obliviousness. Troy gave him a pointed look, and Chad sighed. "So she dumped me. What's to talk about?"

"Are you cool? Seriously? The truth."

"The truth?" Chad said. "The truth is that I'm fine. I'm relieved she did it. Sure it's a bitch now but it wasn't working. And I didn't want to have to be the jackass and end it. And I'm grateful that she did it. So you can take your sympathetic looks elsewhere."

Chad picked up his gym bag and headed into the locker room, leaving Troy to stare after him in bewilderment. Troy scurried after Chad.

"What are you doing Thursday afternoon?"

"You mean before practice?" Chad asked.

"Yeah. During our free periods."

Chad shrugged. "Dunno. That's three days away."

"I was thinking that us guys play some two on two. Get some extra training in."

"We wouldn't want to deprive you of your… Thursday afternoon activity," Chad said, his tone somewhat bitter.

Troy rolled his eyes. "What's that saying? Umm… something about brothers…"

"Bros before hos?" Chad supplied.

"Yeah that one."

"Nice try pulling that one out because I happen to know that Gabriella provides your very reason for living. Which is cool with me." Chad jerked his head toward the locker room. "Come on, now we're really gonna be late."

"So Thursday?" Troy persisted.

Chad sighed. "Yeah all right."

* * *

Practice was gruelling. When Chad had mentioned the likelihood of Coach grilling their asses, Troy had known it would indeed transpire. He'd seen his father over the weekend analysing match footage, making pages and pages of notes. The guys finished at 5:30, leaving the gym completely wiped. Also finishing their own practice at the same time was the East High Wildcats cheerleading squad. The teams emerged from the locker rooms at the same time, chatting as they moved through the school grounds to the front entry and student parking lot area.

"Zeke! Wait up!"

Zeke would recognise her voice anywhere. He hesitated, but paused, glancing around to see Monica walking at a quick pace to catch up with him. She had taken an extra few minutes in the locker room and was lagging behind the rest of the group.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "I uh… I didn't know if you would wait."

He shrugged. "Whatever."

"How was training?" she asked, as they walked along lagging behind everyone else.

"Pretty intense. Coach was pretty harsh on me. Guess I deserve it after the way I played on Friday."

"What are you doing now?" Monica asked.

"Going home."

"Do you uh… do you want to hang out?"

"I have to study," Zeke said shortly.

"Oh. Did you want to study together?"

"Monica…" Zeke said warningly.

"As friends!" she added in a hurry.

"Why are you so desperate to make things right? Is it just because you feel guilty?" Zeke asked.

She shook her head. "I do feel guilty but that's not why. I want to fix things because I really really like you and I fucked it up."

Zeke took a deep breath. "Look… it's not that I'm not into you. A huge part of me just wants to forget that any of this disaster ever happened. But I can't forget. So just… .just give me space, okay?"

Monica meekly nodded. "Okay."

She gave him a small smile and peeled off, heading towards her car. When Zeke arrived at the parking lot, Paula, Jason, Chad and Troy were standing around talking. Troy's eyes were narrowed, staring at Zeke uncertainly.

"Were you just talking to her?" Troy asked.

Zeke raised his eyebrows. "Yes. Do you have an issue with that?"

Troy bit his lip, and lied through his teeth for the purpose of keeping the peace. "No. Not at all."

"What you doing this weekend?" Paula asked, deciding to diffuse the tension.

"Nothing specific planned at the moment," Zeke replied.

"Well you have plans now I am having a belated Halloween party on Saturday night," Paula informed him.

"Paula, Halloween was last week. Remember, we were all too busy with our lives to celebrate or even give a shit?" Zeke commented.

"Note, the _belated _part of the title of my party," Paula said, somewhat condescendingly.

"She wants us to wear _costumes_," Jason informed Zeke with a shudder.

"Troy could hook us up with something from the drama department," Zeke joked.

Troy rolled his eyes. "Remember the fire? They lost like everything."

"Oh yeah."

"You're all gonna come, right?" Paula asked.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Paula, have you ever known me to miss out on a party?"

"No, but less than a year ago I would have thought all sorts of things about you that have changed somewhat," she countered.

"Touche. But weren't you listening to me about five minutes ago when you informed us that your parents were going away? Didn't you hear my whoop and holler?"

"In other words, Troy is about to snap his cap coz of his crazy schedule and needs to get totally wasted," Jason smirked.

"Word," Troy agreed.

Chad cleared his throat. "Who are you inviting?"

"Umm… like everyone," Paula said, biting her lip, knowing what he was asking. "Are you okay with that?"

Chad nodded. "That's cool. It's not like we had some big fight or something. She just… said we should stop seeing each other. And I agreed."

"If Paula has invited everyone you'll be too busy running around smashed to worry about her anyway," Zeke pointed out. "It'll be like old times!"

"Yeah, and we don't have a match the next day," Troy pointed out bitterly.

Zeke glared at Troy for a moment, before relenting and rolling his eyes. "That too."

"Did you invite Kelsi?" Jason asked Paula.

"I ran into Kelsi, Ryan and Gabriella before cheer practice, they all seemed keen," she replied.

"Gabriella was keen?" Troy asked curiously.

"Of course she was. I think that girl is the only person I know who does more than you and would have even more of a reason to want to let her hair down. Although she was dubious when I informed her she'd have to wear a costume, but I'm sure Ryan will help her with that."

The group continued to converse for a few minutes before they peeled off to head home. Troy had just put his keys into the lock on the door when he heard Paula calling out his name.

Troy turned around. "Yeah?"

Paula moved back across the parking lot toward Troy's truck.

"I know you're busy and have to get home and stuff but… can we talk about something quickly?"

"Sure. Are you okay? Is anything wrong?" Troy asked, concerned.

"Umm… no. I just wanted to talk about whether everything is cool with us."

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Umm… yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, we had that whole mini argument thing after the weekend when Monica… you know."

"That was like two weeks ago. I'd totally forgotten about that thing with us."

"Do we need to talk about it?" Paula asked.

"What is it with chicks and feeling the need to talk about everything? I got narky at you, you got narky at me. The very next day we were over it. Life goes on. The end."

"Except that we got narky about real life issues which we never talk about but…"

"We don't talk about them because they don't need to be talked about," Troy said firmly. "It's all the past."

"It is in the past, isn't it?" Paula asked, slightly cautiously.

"Yes!" Troy exclaimed, offended at the insinuation that it was anything but in the past. "Gabriella and I have been together for almost nine months. I'm completely totally so hopelessly in love with her. Don't tell any of the guys I said that, either."

Paula cracked a smile. "Okay. That's good. I just… I had to make sure. You just… you get really riled up everytime someone brings up Alyson so…"

"That doesn't mean I'm not over the whole thing. I don't have some 'complex' like you said."

"I might have been going a bit too far but… you have to admit that you kinda do seem to lack objectivity when it comes to these things. There is always context, always. I'm not saying that the context excuses the persons actions but…"

"I get it Paula, Monica had reasons for cheating on Zeke."

"And Alyson had reasons for cheating on you. Reasons which you are very well aware of. Some would argue that you brought it on yourself."

"I didn't make out with some other girl at a party with all of her friends!"

"No, you just told another girl that you were into her and would dump Alyson for her."

"Which should not have ever gotten back to Ally."

"Oh come on Troy, this is high school. You can't do anything without everyone knowing all about it," Paula pointed out.

Troy leaned back against the door of his truck. "Yeah yeah." Troy exhaled. "When did you get so wise?"

"I've always been this wise, you just choose to ignore my advice half the time," Paula teased.

"Thanks Paula, such a great friend you are," Troy said sarcastically.

"Sometimes being a good friend is telling you things you don't want to hear."

"What, like that I should have listened to Monica's side of the story?"

"From what I hear, Zeke has even heard her out so… you might have to if you want to support your friend."

"You're so awesome. Why on earth are you still single?" Troy chuckled.

"Because I'm the idiot who rejects perfectly lovely guys for undistinguishable reasons."

Paula looked at Troy pointedly for a moment, before tearing her eyes away. "Anyway, I should get…"

"Hey Paula?" Troy ventured, interrupting her.

"Yeah?" Paula asked quietly.

"If I'd dumped Alyson and then asked you out… instead of asking you out and saying I'd break up with her… would your answer have been different?"

Paula shrugged. "I don't like to speculate."

"But… was it no because you weren't into me, or was it no because you didn't like the way I asked you when I was going out with her?"

"Troy, everything about you and I made so much sense. In many ways, take Gabriella out of the picture and it still does. Everyone thought it should happen, you're like this incredibly hot, incredibly lovely guy… who is a little naïve and idealistic at times but, you know, we all have flaws. But there was just something that didn't feel right, something in my gut that said it was wrong. I like to think things happen for a reason. If we'd gone out… I think it might have worked for a while but ultimately, I knew that we weren't going to be compatible in that way. Who knows how different our lives could have been? What if we'd gone out and lasted all the way through Christmas last year? What if you spent your whole time at that New Years Eve party talking to me on the phone?"

"That's a whole lot of speculation for something that never happened," Troy remarked.

"Exactly why I don't like to speculate. I made a decision. Things turned out rather well for you and… yeah I'm still single but it's by choice, a week doesn't go by without someone asking me out. It's all good."

"It's funny how stuff like that changes. Of all the girls I'd been interested in, I think you were the only one I was ever _actually_ interested in. But now… I just can't see myself with anyone other than Gabriella… ever."

Paula smiled as she began to back away towards her car.

"So, you should be thanking me for rejecting you."

Troy grinned. "Thanks for rejecting me, Paula."

"Anytime, Troy, anytime."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I have a confession to make. I sit here as I am writing with this calendar I've written up beside me, It has all of these various things marked. Like, I have Gabriella's 'cycle' marked, basketball games, school dances, all sorts of stuff. And I didn't mark Halloween, even though I had planned that I wanted a Halloween party. I don't know why I didn't but I forgot, and because I come from a country where Halloween is only celebrated - ish for some reason I just totally spaced when I was planning this structurally. And then when I realised, I couldn't bring the party forward a week because I had everything else mapped out. So I decided to just pretend that they were all so busy and that no one was going to have an actual Halloween party on Halloween and reference this earlier and then have Paula find out she could have a party a weekend later. But then I forgot to go back and insert the reference. Ha. So during one of the many blocks of time which I haven't gone into in the past few chapters, they had a conversation about how some of them were trick or treating with little brothers and sisters and that the rest were too busy with stuff to bother with anything. Hopefully, you can forgive me for this continuity error. :-)


	39. Chapter 38

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

* * *

**Chapter 38**

Paula's Post Halloween party was the talk of East High School. Whether it be good talk or bad talk, everybody was talking about it in one way or another. The sheer excitement of the guys was overwhelming. Chad seemed to possess a genuine belief that this party was symbolic for something on a whole deeper level than just partying and having an opportunity to get drunk. It was ritualistic for the newest additions to the Varsity Wildcat team, it was ritualistic that they attend a proper huge party and get smashed with their friends. Jason and Zeke officially appointed themselves as the alcohol gatherer-ers, contacting every older cousin and other possible legal purchaser of such items. Troy was just looking forward to giving himself a night off. His instant reaction when being told about the party wasn't one of '_oh, but I have an assignment due the week after'_ or _'but we have our first full rehearsal at Lava Springs on Sunday._'

* * *

Ryan, Paula and Gabriella had their English literature class third period Thursday morning. For the first exercise of the lesson, the teacher requested they split into pairs, and Gabriella quickly latched onto Paula.

"Fine then, ditch me," Ryan said, poking his tongue out and pretending to be cut.

The girls giggled and Gabriella shifted her chair over to Paula's desk. They quickly compiled their list of observations of the text they were analysing, allowing them to move on to far more interesting discussion points.

"Hey, by already have any plans for this afternoon's free periods?" Gabriella asked.

Paula shook her head. "Not really, why?"

"Any chance you would be in the mood to do me a huge favour and help me out with something?" Gabriella asked hopefully.

"Depends what the favour is, and whether I feel like I might be able to help."

Gabriella bit her lip. "I want help organising my costume for your party."

"Oooh I love helping with costumes!" Paula exclaimed. Gabriella winced at the volume of Paula's remark, quickly glancing around the room. Fortunately the discussions around them had been loud enough to engulf the statement, the teacher sitting at her desk marking none the wiser of the not so on point discussion taking place. "Sorry," Paula said, lowering her voice. "Do you have any ideas in mind?"

"Not really. I'm not good with this stuff. Hence… asking you to help me."

"I'm surprised you didn't get Ryan to help you, he's into all this stuff," Paula commented quietly, gesturing over to Ryan who had paired up with one of the drama club girls for the discussion.

"Uh yes he is into it but… I don't know if he can help me with… well, with the type of costume I want," Gabriella said tactfully. "Or rather, I don't know if I would feel comfortable asking him to help me with the type of costume I want."

Paula narrowed her eyes for a moment, a smile forming on her face as she interpreted the subliminal message. "You want something that will knock Troy's socks off, hey?"

Gabriella nodded, looking slightly embarrassed. "Nothing too… risqué. But… you know, that's the beauty of Halloween. It allows you to be a different character. Wear something you mightn't normally wear."

"Show more than you would normally show?" Paula added coyly.

Gabriella glanced around the classroom, confirming that the teacher was still sitting at her desk at the front marking papers.

"Maybe," Gabriella admitted.

"Well, I am all yours. Although, I am surprised though, I thought you and Troy normally hung out on Thursdays?"

"We do but the guys are playing two on two. I think Troy is worried that they haven't been practicing enough after how they played last week."

"The boy is ditching you to play basketball?" Paula said incredulously.

"It's not like that," Gabriella protested. "I think it's good, especially after all the stuff that went down with Chad and Zeke on Friday night."

"Very true. So looks like it's us girls then, hey?"

"Are you sure though?" Gabriella asked. She was worried about Paula feeling obliged to help, given they weren't the closest of friends Gabriella didn't want to push the friendship boundary. "If you've got something else you need to be doing or…"

"Please, I will take pleasure in dolling you up. It'll be worth it just to see the look on Bolton's face," Paula said with a smirk.

Gabriella smiled, blushing. "Am I being stupid wanting to do this? I'm sure I could just drag out some cop out devil horns and wear red."

"No way are you doing that! This isn't just about Troy, although keeping him on his toes and receiving the rewards of his undivided attention will be worth it alone," Paula said coyly. Gabriella looked somewhat mortified at the insinuation – although deep down she knew that Paula's statement was very true. "What's more important is that it is about you letting go and having fun."

"I'm not planning to get wasted," Gabriella said emphatically.

"I know that. You don't need to be wasted to let go and have fun. It's like how there's that part of you that loves performing. That's what that is about, letting go, being someone else."

"All right class, finish up your discussions now. We'll go around the room and see what ideas you've all come up with!"

* * *

Gabriella and Paula headed from English lit toward where they each had math classes next door to one another next period; Gabriella's Calculus II class with Taylor; and Paula in Trig with Troy.

"You could borrow my cheerleading outfit?" Paula suggested.

Gabriella screwed up her nose. "No. The last thing I want is to get into my head that Troy would actually be turned on if I was a cheerleader."

"Oh please, it's got nothing to do with being a cheerleader. It's about wearing a skirt that is shorter than socially acceptable."

"Whatever. Next idea?"

"Umm… you could do a version of yourself with a spin. You know like… slutty school girl with a little plaid skirt and a white shirt unbuttoned and tied above your navel."

Gabriella wrinkled her nose. "No. Not liking that. It's Halloween! The costume should be something… Halloweenish."

"Any costume is Halloweenish."

"Well, I happen to think that a real Halloween costume is… black. Or red. Or… scary," Gabriella declared decisively, before adding thoughtfully. "But I don't want it to be too scary. Not scary in a fake warts or dripping blood kind of way. You know what I mean?"

Paula sighed. "Let me contemplate it during class."

"Hey!" Taylor called out.

Taylor and Troy were hanging around just outside the two classrooms.

"Hey you," Gabriella said with a small smile, greeting Troy with a warm hug.

"Okay so do you want to meet back out here, or what?" Paula asked Gabriella.

"Can I meet you at the parking lot? I just have to swing by the library and stuff first."

"Okay cool."

"What's going on?" Troy asked.

"Paula is helping me organise my costume for her party," Gabriella answered.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the conversation and the beginning of an hour of enthralling mathematical learning.

"Come on," Taylor prompted Gabriella.

"Have fun in trig!" Gabriella said brightly, as they separated into their separate classrooms.

"What costume are you going to wear?" Gabriella asked Taylor quietly as they entered the classroom. The students were all still chatting as Mr Davis was setting up his belongings.

"I don't even know if I am going to attend," Taylor informed her, attempting to sound dismissive – however fully prepared for Gabriella's indignant reaction.

Gabriella's mouth dropped open, staring at Taylor in disbelief as they dropped into their seats. "You have to go! You said you were going to come!"

"I never said I was going to come. I just said that it sounds like it will be fun. It does sound like fun," Taylor said logically.

"You _have_ to come!" Gabriella insisted.

"No, no I don't. You want me to come, but you and I know very well that you will spend about an hour or so being social before disappearing into a bedroom with Troy," Taylor said in a quiet but knowing voice.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Everyone is going Taylor, even if Troy and I disappear you have other friends that are going."

Taylor smirked, amused that Gabriella wasn't even attempting to deny that likelihood of a disappearing act taking place. "Other friends who revolve around Chad. He and I may be acting civil toward one another but we're not in the place where hanging around each other is going to be conducive to a fun, party environment."

Mr Davis stood, taking his place before the class of students, the room dimming to a murmur. "If you will all open your books to last night's homework questions, we'll get that out of the way."

"This is NOT over," Gabriella hissed, before snapping back to sit diligently upright in her seat. Taylor simply rolled her eyes.

* * *

Chad was dribbling the ball cross court, an ineptly timed pass to Jason resulting in Troy stealing the ball and passing it to Zeke who was waiting right near the hoop. Zeke caught the ball in midair and made an NBA style slam dunk.

"Man I wish I was tall enough to do that," Jason complained.

In Jason's admiration/resentment of Zeke's shot, he missed the rebound, and Troy claimed the ball and subsequently made a clean jump shot. Troy and Zeke exchanged a high five.

"Why would she be so fucking selfish?" Chad demanded.

Troy rolled his eyes. Chad had spent the last fifteen minutes of their Thursday afternoon two on two game bitching about Taylor. For a guy who claimed he didn't care that they'd broken up, he seemed to spend a lot of time obsessing about the break up.

"Tell me, how is she being selfish?" Zeke asked.

"You heard Bolton, Gabriella told him that Taylor said she's not gonna go to Paula's party because I'm gonna be there. And now I feel guilty about it. Which I shouldn't because she is the one who broke up with me. And yet here I am, feeling bad that she is basing her life and social plans around my presence."

"FYI, could you not repeat that I mentioned what Gabriella told me? Coz something tells me she won't be happy about that," Troy said, scratching the back of his neck.

The other three all ignored Troy.

"And I'm back at, how is Taylor being _selfish_?" Zeke repeated patiently.

"Because she knows that I will feel bad. She just wants me to give her permission to go."

"I don't think Taylor is the kind of girl who needs permission to do anything," Troy pointed out.

"I guess. Gimme the ball, I want to try something," Chad said, motioning to Jason.

Jason passed the ball over to Chad who was standing just outside the three point arc. He made an attempt at a shot, which fell just short of the hoop.

"Fuck," Chad groaned. He ran to retrieve the ball and then proceeded to set up again.

"You need to use your legs more," Troy advised.

Chad ignored him, imitating his exact same technique. Once again the shot fell short. Troy quickly retrieved the ball and spun it on his fingertip as he went back over to where his friends had more or less given up on the game in favour of discussing the matter with Chad.

"Do you want her to go to the party?" Jason said cautiously. "I mean… does it bother you if she does go? If it does, maybe it's a good thing she doesn't wanna go."

Chad shrugged. "Whatever. I mean, it's been okay this week so far. I would rather she was there than not there coz of me."

"We've hardly hung out with her at all though. She's been running around crazily with the debate team and organising stuff for the yearbook committee…" Zeke pointed out.

"Speaking of that, Bolton, did you get her e-mail about how she's gonna let both of us work on the yearbook? Selfish bitch," Chad grumbled.

Troy coughed. "I just joined Zeke on the 'how is Taylor selfish' bus."

"You know why she wants me to work on it? Because now if she said no, then she would look like she was being a bitch just because we broke up," Chad declared.

"You seriously think that's why? How do you know this?" Zeke asked dubiously.

"Why else would she want me to work on the committee? I can't write for shit."

Troy sighed. "I dunno why she wanted you on the committee but Taylor isn't going to put just anyone on the committee. You guys hadn't broken up when we talked about wanting to be on the committee, and even then, she seemed fairly serious about not showing any kind of favouritism or anything with the decision."

"Whatever," Chad said, his tone indicative of his lack of willingness to see the reason in Troy's argument.

Troy stared at Chad. "Why do the two of you have to make everything so complicated?"

Chad's response was nothing short of bitter. "Not everyone gets the fairytale romance like you."

* * *

"Believe me, this is going to work," Paula said knowingly.

The girls were standing in a department store at the mall. Paula was holding up a pair of fishnet stockings.

"I don't know," Gabriella said dubiously. "It relies on me being able to do my make up and…."

"Come over to mine a bit early, I'll help you get ready there."

"Oh… I don't know," Gabriella said a little awkwardly. "Who else will be there?"

This was Gabriella's polite way of asking whether all of Paula's cheer squad crew would be hanging about. East High might have changed, minds may have been opened – but as a matter of simple human nature, not every personality will always match. On an acquaintance level, Gabriella was perfectly content with many of Paula's friends. As for spending an extended period of time in a secluded area, she was less enthusiastic about the concept.

"I'm borrowing Ryan's sound system so he will be there at some point to help set it up. And Zeke and Jason are bringing the drinks and coolers around. That's all."

"Hmm… maybe," Gabriella mused.

Paula handed her the fishnets. "Go with it. Trust me. It is inexpensive, Halloween themed and also will be incredibly hot."

"You're sure I can borrow the…"

"Yes! It's fine."

"Really?"

"Really!"

Gabriella relented, and grabbed the fishnets and moved toward the counter to hand over her debit card.

"We'll go back to my house now and I'll grab them for you so we can make sure the sizing it all good. And if you like I can experiment with the make up so it won't take too long on Saturday afternoon."

Gabriella went along with the plan, despite the overall peculiarity of the situation. After paying for the stockings, the girls headed straight to the parking lot and Paula began the drive to her house. Gabriella had never known where Paula lived, and she was rather surprised when Paula was heading towards the same neighbourhood as where Ryan and Sharpay lived.

"You live near Ryan," Gabriella said, the surprise evident in her tone.

"Worst house in the best neighbourhood," Paula said with a light laugh.

When Paula pulled up in front of a house that made the Montez's perfectly lovely home look like a tin shed, Gabriella smiled wryly.

"No wonder you're inviting practically everyone."

"Oh come on, we were able to fit just as many people into Chad's place last year for Troy's surprise party," Paula pointed out.

"I suppose," Gabriella mused.

* * *

Although Gabriella wouldn't like to admit it, strike her in a good mood and she was just as much of a girly girl as the best of them. Time flew by, with about a half hour spent fussing around with various items of costume and make up schemes.

"So you're feeling good about it?" Paula asked, as she packed the items that Gabriella was borrowing into a plastic bag.

"I think so," Gabriella confirmed, a coy smile. "Thank you so much, I so could not have done this without you."

"No worries. Now come on, all this hard work has gotten me thirsty and I am in desperate need for a fruit smoothie before I get ready for cheer practice. You want one?"

Gabriella trailed after Paula into her kitchen where Paula retrieved various fruits, sorbet and juice.

"Can I ask for your advice?" Gabriella asked, as she assisted by slicing up a few bananas.

"Advice about the costume or…"

"No, real advice. Life advice."

Paula winced as she added strawberries into the blender. "You sure you're talking to the right person?"

Gabriella hesitated. "I know it must seem weird me wanting to ask you about this given that, well, we're only sorta friends, you know? I mean, you're more friends with Troy and so therefore I'm friends with you and…"

"I didn't mean it like that," Paula assured her. "You and I _are_ friends. And I'm actually surprisingly good with the advice thing. I was just surprised that you would be coming to be for advice, rather than Taylor or Ryan."

Gabriella nodded. She set the knife down and scooped up the banana to drop it into the blender. "Umm… so, you've never talked about it with me but I gather from, you know, talking with people, that you were in a pretty serious relationship for a while?"

Paula nodded, and was now adding chunks of fresh mango into the mix. "That's right. I went out with Cole for just over a year – he was a senior last year. We went out for all of my sophomore year and broke up at the very beginning of junior year."

"Did you and he… umm… were you… did you have… sex?" Gabriella finally managed to ask, her eyes averted from looking at Paula as the words came out.

"Yes," Paula answered matter of factly.

Gabriella cleared her throat. "Excellent. That's… that's good."

"I don't mind answering your questions," Paula said, a smile toying on her lips. She added sorbet into the blender and popped the lid on.

Paula's openness was a relief for Gabriella. She had suspected that Paula was going to be the type of person who would be willing to discuss it openly, but nevertheless Gabriella was more than a little hesitant about bringing it up.

"I know it's kind of weird for me to be asking you about it but… I don't really have anyone else to ask. Normally Taylor is my advice person but she and Chad never… well if they did she didn't tell me and I think she would have. Even if they had I wouldn't feel right asking her about it when they just broke up."

"Better to ask someone for advice than keep feeling confused about it," Paula said.

Paula flicked the blender on, and a couple of minutes later the girls were each clutching onto a tall glass filled with delicious ice cold smoothie. Paula gestured for Gabriella to follow her, where they headed into the lounge area, plopping onto the couch.

"What do you want to know?" Paula asked.

"Was… was Cole your first?"

Paula nodded. "My first, my only so far. But I was pretty young when I did it but… it was right for me."

"Did you love him?"

Paula paused, and answered carefully. "There is love and there is being in love. I loved him. Still do, we broke up amicably and he is still one of the most amazing people I've ever met. At the time, I thought that I was in love with him. In hindsight, I'm not so sure."

"Do you regret doing it with him?"

"Oh no. Absolutely not," she answered firmly. "I know quite a few girls who just did it with some guy they liked and thought was hot who they'd been seeing for a few weeks. I even know one or two who literally had the drunken completely non memorable one night stand as a first time. I was lucky to be in a solid relationship with someone and be able to experience it that way."

"How did you know that you were ready?"

"I just… knew. We didn't really talk about it, we'd been fooling around and I kept saying not yet, not yet. And in the moment I just knew that it was right and luckily he was prepared for it to happen whenever."

"Did it hurt?" Gabriella asked, a wince on her face.

"A bit. When you read and hear that it's different for everyone, that's true. It hurts more for some than others. For some the pain lasts for longer but it isn't as bad. For others it's one searing moment of pain which then dissipates."

"Okay." Gabriella inhaled and exhaled as she registered the information.

"I have to admit I'm a little surprised that you and Troy haven't done it already," Paula admitted. "I mean… I'm obviously not there in your brain but… you guys seem like you're there, you know?"

Gabriella nodded. "Not far from. It was so much easier when I knew that I wasn't ready. Now it's in this fuzzy patch between being ready and not being ready. But you know, how am I supposed to work out that I am ready? One afternoon when we are meant to be studying and actually fooling around, am I suddenly going to just think, right, we've got an hour til mom is home so let's go for it now? I don't want it to be like that. I'm not so naïve to think that it's going to be perfect. But at the same time surely it's okay to want to be in control of the logistics of the matter…" Gabriella trailed off.

"I think you have this romanticised notion of what you want it to be like. I mean, the words coming out of your mouth are realistic and practical, but I think that somewhere deep inside you just want it to be perfect and magical and brilliant. And it's almost as though you know it can't be like that and rather than accepting that, you're putting it off as though things are going to change to allow it to be perfect and magical and wonderful. The magic comes from who it's with, not the logistics of how it happens."

"That is so corny," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

"Corny yes. But, it's also true."

* * *

That evening the Evans' family was seated around their formal dining room, tucking into their dinner. Vance Evans had been working a lot of late nights lately, however on this particular night he was at home and determined for family dinner to be catch up time.

"So, tell me how your college applications are coming along, Princess?"

"Juilliard applications aren't far away, and then the auditions will be in a few months time," Sharpay answered with a beam.

"Excellent. And what are your other application plans?"

"Well… I really want to go to Julliard for drama school. But I also really like the drama program at UCLA."

"The University of California is an excellent school, pumpkin. Great choice," Vance Evans said proudly. "And what about you, son?"

Ryan cleared his throat. "Well my goal is definitely Julliard, the dance program is incredible."

"Julliard is very selective, isn't it?"

Ryan narrowed his eyes. "It is, I've been training extremely hard and my coaches seem to think that I have what it takes. However they also have a program through Columbia University, so if I didn't get in directly through Julliard and I got into Columbia, I could take classes at Julliard but get my degree from Columbia."

"That sounds wonderful sweetheart," Mrs Evans gushed.

"What else?" his father prompted.

Ryan cleared his throat. "I didn't mind the look of MCLA if I decided I wanted to pursue theatre as opposed to dance and…"

"MCLA? What the hell is that?"

"It's the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts."

"A _liberal arts_ college? No way any son of mine is going to any such place. What else?"

"Stony Brook University in New York is also recognised as having an excellent dance program and…"

"Stony Brook? That doesn't even sound REAL," Vance remarked.

"Isn't Stony Brook the name of the town in those books about the baby sitting girls?" Sharpay asked, not being particularly helpful.

"Do you have any REAL ideas, Ryan? You don't really think you can pursue a career with all this twirling around business, do you?"

Ryan ignored the second part of the sentence, focusing on the first. "New York University is recognised as being one of the top 30 universities in the world."

Vance smiled. "There we go, now you're talking. Atta boy."

* * *

Troy was sitting at his computer, doing his usual multi tasking routine. He currently had his MSN Messenger open, as well as AIM, Facebook, the NBA website, his e-mail account, the Gonzaga homepage, a website he was researching for his English assignment, and the final draft of his physics assignment that was due the following day. He was on busy status on his messenger programs, which basically gave him the license to blow off the people he didn't really want to talk to. Gabriella also was online, and just like him she also was on busy and similarly, would converse with only the people she really wanted to be talking to. They'd spoken on the phone earlier in the evening, a conversation that she had cut short claiming a need to call Taylor to discuss an assignment. She'd promised they would talk later on AIM but now that they were both online, she was more or less blowing him off. Doing the half assed "yup" and "haha that's true!" half answers.

Troy glanced at the time. It was almost 11 at night. His father had come in an hour ago to say good night. His mother was working that night, having been called into the hospital for an overnight shift.

'Brb' he typed to Gabriella.

'K' came her reply.

He narrowed his eyes. There was no 'Don't be too long xo' like she might normally say. This in itself confirmed his plan. Troy grabbed his hoodie and crept out of his room, along the corridor and down the stairs.

* * *

Ryan padded up the corridor towards Sharpay's room, clad in a fuzzy navy blue bathrobe and ugg boots. It was 11pm, but he could still hear music blasting from her room, and once he was close enough he could see through the crack at the bottom of her door that her bedroom lights were still on. He rapped on the door with their 'secret' knock, to which she called him in.

He slowly opened the door and was met by a vision of his sister standing in the corner of her room where she had two full length mirrors and then a free standing full length mirror, providing a 270 degree view at once.

"Deciding what you're going to wear to school tomorrow?" Ryan queried.

"Uh huh," Sharpay replied.

She turned around, and picked up a different jacket from the bed. "Which jacket?" she asked, gesturing to the one she had on and the hanger she was clutching onto.

"Do you have any presentations tomorrow?"

"No."

"The one you have on."

Sharpay wrinkled her nose and peeled the one she had on off, and replaced it with the other.

"I like the other," she declared, with a definitive nod.

"The other is also good."

Ryan perched at her desk chair as Sharpay entered her walk in robe and closed the door behind her.

"What do you want?" she called back out.

"Umm, just came in for a chat," Ryan said a little lamely.

Sharpay came out of the walk in wardrobe, having changed into her pyjamas. She shivered a little and grabbed her fuzzy pink bathroom from a hook on the door of the wardrobe and wrapped herself in it, her feet sliding into a pair of fuzzy pink slippers tripped in pink fluff with silver text reading _Princess._

"Since when do you just come in here for a chat any more?" Sharpay said knowingly, her eyebrows raised. "Obviously you have something in particular you want to talk about."

Ryan smiled sheepishly. He stretched his arm out, accidentally nudging the mouse of Sharpay's PC. The screensaver of famous Hollywood actresses flickered off to reveal a Microsoft Word document open on the screen. Ryan glanced at it.

"English essay? Hows it going? Mine pretty much blows."

Sharpay nodded. "I told Mrs Fitzpatrick that it was completely unnecessary for an actress to understand any of this stuff. You know what she told me? She told me that as an actress I should _act_ like I am someone who cares about it. Please. Who does that idiot think she is to suggest something so braindead? I should get daddy to write a letter to the school board complaining about her."

Ryan smirked. "Mrs Fitzpatrick is an old crow. But maybe that excuse will work on Miss Jacobs for the algebra test tomorrow. I am so screwed for that."

"I tried it on her already," Sharpay admitted.

"Oh."

"Ry?" Sharpay prompted. "You're here because?"

"I really did just want to chat. I mean there's a few things I want to chat about but… in general I just wanted to chat."

"Okay. What about then?"

"Were you going to Paula's party on Saturday night?" Ryan asked.

Sharpay shrugged. "I was invited. Not sure if I'm going yet though."

"It's a costume party, you love dressing up," Ryan said with a smile. "You bought that genie costume that you haven't gotten to wear anywhere yet."

"I'll see. I really don't know yet. Troy was talking about it the other day, it sounds like it will be fun but… yeah. I don't know."

"Troy was talking about it?" Ryan repeated.

"At rehearsal."

Ryan sighed. "Shar… about Troy…"

"What about him?" she said, a little too quickly.

Ryan bit his lip, trying to sound tactful. "You uh… you know he and Gabriella will be hanging out there together? The word on the street is thatshe's planning some hot, droolworthy outfit."

"Care factor zero Ry," Sharpay said brightly, lying through her teeth.

"Right. Well I still really would love for you to come. Practically everyone who is anyone is going. It should be awesome."

"Was there anything else?" Sharpay prompted. "I really do have to study some more. Juilliard don't care about grades, but since my credit card is nearly maxed again, I need to keep my grades up to keep Daddy happy."

Ryan gave her a small smile. "Sure."

Sharpay spun around in her chair and refocused on her computer screen as Ryan left her room. When she heard the soft click of her bedroom door closing, she glanced at her MSN Messenger. Troy had been on busy but now was on away…

* * *

Gabriella was sitting at her PC. She had AIM open with two conversations going. One with Troy who had said 'brb' a few minutes ago. One with Taylor, who she was discussing their drama homework with. She had a Word document open with her physics assignment. She had finished it about four days ago but was just doing one final glance over to make sure it was perfect before hitting the print button.

She heard a light rapping on her balcony window and spun around to see Troy smiling coyly at her. She was one third shocked to see him, one third excited that he was there and one third petrified of her mom hearing him. She jumped up, unlocking the balcony door.

"What are you doing here!" she hissed softly, the petrified element taking over. Nevertheless, she gestured for him to come in.

Without warning, Troy grabbed Gabriella by the waist and pressed his lips to hers hungrily. Her original hostility melted away, and she succumbed to the excitement of seeing him, allowing the worry about being caught to somewhat drift away.

"Okay then, so you're not upset with me," Troy murmured softly as he released her.

"Upset with you?" Gabriella repeated, clearly confused. "Why would I be upset with you?"

"You were acting weird. I was worried. Are you okay?"

"Am I so transparent that even through AIM you could tell that I was acting weird?"

Troy nodded. "That's right."

Gabriella noticed her IM with Taylor flashing orange and walked over to her computer to quickly inform Taylor of Troy's random arrival and that she would be right back.

"It's nothing really," Gabriella lied.

Troy rolled his eyes. "I've snuck out of my house minutes before curfew, the least you can do is throw me a bone here babe."

Gabriella perched on the bed. "I just was thinking about something. Yes it's about us but it's not something to worry about. And it's not something that you just randomly mention, it's more something that comes up naturally. So I didn't want to say anything."

Troy slipped off his converse and sat on the bed beside her. He didn't hesitate to nestle back against her pillows, legs out in front of him, as he prepared himself for a long winded conversation.

"Well here I am bringing it up naturally. So, Gabriella, anything at all that you would like to discuss about our relationship?"

"Very natural indeed."

"Gabi, come on," Troy prodded, his hand falling to her thigh to squeeze affectionately.

"Do you really want me to be talking about this in this whispered tone?"

"Yes," Troy said stubbornly.

Gabriella sighed. She shifted her weight to be sitting beside Troy, with her legs crossed, facing into him. "I was just… I was thinking about how I really, really, really felt the need to discuss something with you. And the reason I wanted to talk about it is because I suddenly feel this need for us to talk about everything and anything. I already felt it after summer but now I feel it even more."

"Because Chad and Taylor didn't talk about stuff and now they broke up?"

"Yes."

"Okay… so you want to talk about anything and everything… and there is something in particular you want to talk about… why aren't we talking about it?"

"Because it's weird."

"Try me."

Gabriella bit her lip. "Are you getting impatient with me?" Gabriella asked in a tiny voice, even smaller than the hushed tone she was already speaking in.

"Impatient? What, because you're not telling me what you want to talk about?"

She rolled her eyes. "No…. that's what I want to talk about. About… umm… you and me. The… the… rate of progression of things. And… whether you are impatient with me for the rate of progression. Or… lack of progression."

"Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?" Troy said, staring at her. He noted the serious expression on her face, realising that she was being completely serious. "No, I'm not, not at all. We've only been fooling around for like…" Troy thought. "A month and a half?"

"Has it only been that long?" Gabriella mused.

"Uh huh."

"Wow."

"And it's not like it was during our summer… well the second half of summer… when we were spending heaps of time together. It's been totally crazy, between student council and basketball and auditions and now rehearsals. I'm surprised things have had any time to progress at all. I'm glad they have, but it's like we have to steal these moments together, running from one obligation to another."

"And then once the musical is over, you'll have playoffs and we'll have SATs and…"

"It's the story of our lives," Troy said, a little bitterly.

"It's better this time though. I mean it's crazy but… I feel like we're closer than ever. Aren't we?"

"We are," he responded earnestly, taking her hands in his and lacing their fingers together. "I keep feeling closer to you. I keep thinking that something has to go wrong because this is just… it's too…"

"Too perfect?" Gabriella supplied knowingly.

Troy nodded. "So in answer to your question, I'm not getting impatient. In fact I frequently contemplate just how incredible this is and just how lucky I am that you even cast me a second glance." Troy hesitated before adding teasingly, "Besides… it's not like we don't make up for it with other activity."

Gabriella was embarrassed, but also touched at the same time. "That we do," she agreed coyly.

"Where did this come from?" Troy prompted.

"What do you mean?"

"Were you just sitting here doing homework and suddenly thought, _hmm so Troy ditched me today to hang with the guys, maybe he was complaining that I'm not ready?"_

"Not quite like that," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes. "I've just been… I've been thinking about it a lot lately. When my mom told me she was going to be away last weekend she made me have another talk with her and it just really got me thinking. I don't know when and I don't know how but… I know it's going to happen."

Troy's hand which was resting upon her leg, just above her knee squeezed gently.

"It is?" he asked softly.

"At first I couldn't be _certain_ of that. Before summer, I could have made assumptions on the basis of my feelings that it would progress in that direction but… but I couldn't be certain. Now I know it'll happen. It's not… it's not some faraway thing that I feel petrified of. And I've only really just come to accept that. And in accepting that, it's made me think about it more and we both know just how dangerous me thinking about stuff like this can be and…"

"I don't think dangerous is the word," Troy said seriously. "I happen to think it's a good thing that you're thinking about it. And _not_ because I'm impatient," he added hastily. "What did your mom have to say?"

"Oh other than banning me from having you over on the weekend?"

"Which you disobeyed," Troy pointed out.

Gabriella smirked. "Yes. Which I had no intention of doing but… I'm glad I did. Other than that… she was going on about STDs and pregnancy and stuff."

"Do our parents really think that we are complete idiots?" Troy mused. "You're taking that tablet thing, aren't you?"

"Umm no. She made me go back to another appointment at the sexual health clinic," Gabriella told him, wrinkling up her nose.

"When was this?" Troy asked.

"Umm… last week?"

"You should have told me!"

"It's not a big deal. Anyway, I wound up going on this birth control shot thing."

"A shot? You mean like a needle?" Troy asked, slightly mortified. "What, like every day?"

"No, it's only once every three months. So it's better than the Pill because then there's all this worry about if I forgot to take it, or getting food poisoning and vomiting and therefore making it ineffective and… and stuff. That you don't need to worry about."

"Right. Okay then."

"But umm… it's not completely effective. Statistically 1 in every 100 women who are on this shot thing, they wind up pregnant."

"So we also use a condom," Troy said, before adding deadpan, "which is what we're meant to do, you know, since I could be out slutting around with randoms."

Gabriella snorted. "You'd better hope not, Bolton."

His facial expression somehow changed from the fake serious into the genuine serious. "You're telling me about this not because your mom is worried, but because you're worried." It was a statement, not a question.

"I'm not worried but she made a valid point in asking me if I had seriously thought about it, about what I would do… you know if… if it didn't work." As Gabriella spoke, her eyes were focused on staring at Troy's thigh, and the slight crinkle in the soft material of Troy's forest green track suit pants.

Troy dropped one of her hands that he was holding, his index finger tipping her chin up, her eye line drifting up to meet his.

"We Gabriella, what WE would do," Troy emphasised.

Gabriella smiled slightly, feeling touched by the emphatic within his tone. "Okay… what we would do."

Troy sighed. "Look… if you want us to sit down one day and have another conversation about what we would do… we can do that. Even though thinking about it terrifies the crap out of me. But, you know what, you can't go through life playing the what if game, letting what if's prevent you from doing stuff."

"But it's a real what if. Condoms aren't totally effective against pregnancy either. What if the 1 in 100 chance with the condom and the 1 in 100 chance with the shot overlap, what if… what if it really did happen?"

"Statistically driving a car is rather dangerous but I'm not going to let that stop me. And yes I know that there are all of this societal stigma attached to teenagers having sex and mistakes happening. A seventeen year old in a healthy relationship who uses protection and has sex and things don't go to plan – there's all sorts of criticisms. More so than what would be attached to a 22 year old in the same situation. The fact is that you and I are in a serious relationship. If we were in our 20s, if we had no moral objection, we probably would have had sex months ago."

"But we're not in our 20s. We are 17. Yes in New Mexico that is the legal age of consent and everything but… it's about the fact that we are in high school and don't even know what we're doing with our lives let alone how that is going to affect our relationship – and if things did go wrong then we aren't in a position to really support ourselves or… or…"

"Is this why you're hesitant? Because we don't know what's gonna happen in our relationship after high school?" Troy asked.

Gabriella paused. "The practical me can't help but be concerned. The me who is just madly in love with her boyfriend acknowledges that I can't let uncertainty about the future dictate the present." Gabriella exhaled. "I don't even know what I'm rambling about. I think too much. My brain doesn't stop sometimes."

"I happen to find your neverstopping brain to be incredibly sexy," Troy murmured, leaning over to press a lingering kiss to her lips. "Like I already said, it's good that you're thinking about it, that we're thinking about it. It means that when it does happen, it will be in a state of absolute assurance that it's the right decision. Yeah?"

"I know this has to be frustrating for you. Having to wait. And having to put up with my random eruptions of crazy thought processes that don't actually take us any closer to… to…"

"Making love?" Troy supplied.

"You're so cute, using phrases like that," Gabriella giggled.

"Would you prefer a different phrase? Shagging? Boinking? Fucking like wild animals? Rooting?"

"No thank you, making love is fine."

"What happened to 'let's just think about right now'?" Troy asked. "Isn't that all that really matters? That we're here together, right here, right now? The other stuff… whether we're going to do it, what may or may not happen when we do it… does that matter at this exact moment?"

"No. No, I guess it doesn't. I love you," Gabriella said earnestly. "I hope that those words aren't becoming overused."

"Never."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I really love to hear what you guys think about what's happening. Also, on a totally random sidenote (which I have mentioned to a few of you already) how many of you would be semi interested if I lost my mind and wrote a High School Musical/Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover? I want to write it but I'm feeling iffy about it just because I'm not sure whether it will gauge enough interest to warrant throwing myself into it. Anywho, the next chapter sees the first half of the Halloween bash so go get your costumes ready, you've got about two days til the party begins!

-Dani xo


	40. Chapter 39

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY: **Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: Okay. This chapter and the following are the Halloween party; with the chapter following that being the morning after. These chapters are _**HUGE**_. I could have broken up this chapter and the following two into bits and posted an 8 chapter mini series just about this party.

If you are rushing to be somewhere, don't attempt to read this now. If you are at church or driving or have an exam tomorrow or presently studying/e-mailing/writing/doing ten things at once - perhaps not also a brilliant idea to read this now. (This is aimed at a few specific people and I hope they know I am aiming it at them, ha). If you are someone who struggles with longer chapters and finds themselves glazing over the non TxG sections, can I suggest you take a break half way through? There's a lot of detail going on, all the various plot arcs all happening at once and they're all going to intersect very soon and I recommend that to really _get_ this story, you need to be up to speed on each arc of the story.

Additionally to my thanks to Martin (_emptrajan) _for previewing this chapter; I would like to thank both two special chickies for their assistance throughout the following couple of chapters. Audrey (_Audrey K)_ my 'All Things Pink' Consultant, for firstly providing advice and inspiration and then previewing sections of these chapters pertaining to none other than Miss Sharpay Evans; and Nel (_Persephone Lemonade)_ who provided assistance with costuming, the soundtrack, naming a random character and also was just generally a huge motivational tool while I was writing these mofo chapters for days and days and days straight.

Oh. Gabriella's costume. I've said before that I suck with outfit descriptions. I do have a picture of it, in my brain it's hotter than the picture though. And I don't want to clutter up my profile with crap that isn't specifically what I have in my brain. So if you really really would like to see the pic, let me know, and then I'll put the link in my profile for a few days and then get rid of it.

* * *

**Chapter 39**

Gabriella was standing in Paula's bedroom, staring at herself in the full length mirror. Well, supposedly she was staring at herself, although it was hard to believe because the girl in the mirror was practically beyond recognition.

"Wow," Gabriella said in disbelief. "Is that really me?"

"Why yes it is," Paula said with a proud smile. "Just in time too. I didn't realise it was going to take so long to set everything up. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here to help me."

It was about an hour before guests were due to begin arriving for the party. Gabriella had been at Paula's all afternoon, helping to prepare the house itself; and then the girls had primped and prepared themselves for the night. They were expecting deliveries from Zeke and Jason in the form of alcohol; and Ryan in the form of his loaned stereo system. In perfect timing, the doorbell rang, and Gabriella carefully followed Paula down the stairs. She was wearing knee high boots with stiletto heels and was rather wary of the rather ominous possibility of tripping and falling flat on her face.

"Hey guys," Paula's voice rang out. Gabriella was still teetering down the stairs when she heard Zeke's voice.

"Hey Paula, looking hot. Red heels always sexy," Zeke complimented.

"Well, we have the beer, where do you…." Jason trailed off momentarily before stammering the end of the sentence. "…want… it… wow!"

Gabriella had reached the bottom of the stairs, and Jason's attention had flickered away from the sexy, red heeled Nurse Paula and was now fixated upon Gabriella – more specifically, somewhere between Gabriella's belly button and neck.

"Holy shit, look at you!" Zeke said, with a low whistle.

"Wow," Jason said again.

"I'd feel glad that Kelsi isn't here with you saying that Jason," Gabriella said, feeling half uncomfortable and half delighted by their reaction.

"And that Troy isn't here because if he saw you looking at her like that, he'd kick your ass," Paula smirked.

"Whatever," Zeke scoffed. "He could try."

"Anyway, where do you want this shit," Jason said, nodding down at the carton of beer he was lugging.

"Oh! Sorry! Come in! Umm put it in the downstairs bathroom, I'm gonna put ice in the bathtub."

"What if people need to use the toilet?" Zeke asked.

"It's in a separate room."

Gabriella teetered outside toward their car to collect another load from the delivery. She picked up the smallest of the portable coolers by the handle and just as she turned around, she heard the sound of another car pulling up down the drive way. Gabriella turned around to see Ryan pull up in his black Audi A6. Through the tinted windows she missed the initial wide eyed smirk of a reaction. He immediately opened his door and pushed down his sunglasses to get a better look at her.

"Look at you!" he said, letting out a wolf whistle.

Gabriella blushed. "Do you think it's too much?"

Ryan rounded the car to step toward her. "Well, as an innocent and rather objective bystander, I'd say you look smoking hot and it's a costume party so you have the license to wear whatever you want to wear. But no, it's not too much. It's risqué and inviting and suggestive, but not in a _I'm a dirty ho_ kind of way."

Gabriella smiled. "Good. That's what I wanted to hear."

Lowering his voice, Ryan added, "I kinda wish I was straight so I could appreciate this more."

"Don't worry, Jason and Zeke are here," she informed him, jerking her head toward Zeke's car. "So they're ogling enough to make up your part."

"Hey Ryan!" Zeke called out, as he and Jason and Paula all came back out to take in another armload of supplies.

"The music man is here," Ryan informed Paula, as he opened the trunk of his car.

"Fantastic, thank you so much for letting me borrow your sound system."

"It's all good. A party is incomplete without awesome tunes blasting."

"Doesn't Gabriella look hot?" Jason said.

Ryan nodded. "Absolutely."

Gabriella was looking embarrassed again, and clutched the cooler to her chest.

"Don't go all shy on me now! We did this because you _wanted _this kind of reaction!" Paula exclaimed.

"Not from them," Gabriella said, a little uneasy.

"Think of us as the dry run. If you had looked like shit, we would have told you and you could have found a way to show more of your tits before Bolton arrived," Jason suggested

Gabriella's eyes widened, but she giggled. "So you give it the seal of approval then?"

"If your goal is to make him walk around with a permanent stiffy all night," Zeke smirked.

Gabriella was slightly perturbed by this remark, and Ryan sensed her discomfort.

"All right let's do this," he announced. "I have to go home and get ready."

"Get ready?" Jason repeated. "How long is that going to take you?"

"Well my costume is a bit complicated. And, not to mention that Sharpay tends to take longer than any human being on the planet to get ready."

* * *

All three of the guys left shortly after unloading the cars and hooking up the sound system. Jason and Zeke left having made the promise to return promptly with Kelsi in tow at 6:55pm. Paula wanted to ensure that there were a few people present for when other guests arrived. There was nothing worse than being the first person to arrive at a party, standing around awkwardly and waiting for others to arrive.

"Unlike Evans, both of our costumes are simple and so as long as Kelsi is ready when we get to her house, we won't be long at all," Zeke promised.

And when they returned, it became evident just how simple their costumes were. Zeke was wearing a pair of black trousers and had taken a piece of thick cardboard, cut it into the shape of a three intersecting lightening bolts, and stuck yellow cardboard to it.

Gabriella burst into giggles when she saw him. "You think highly of yourself, don't you?"

"What is he meant to be?" Paula asked, a raised eyebrow.

"Zeus, I think."

Zeke nodded, a broad grin on his face. "That's me, king of the Gods."

"You do know that Zeus wore more like a toga type thing," Kelsi informed him with a slight smile. "And isn't there some other staffy pole thing?"

"Ssshhh," Zeke said. "Look, I made effort with this lightening bolt thing. Surely I get points for that."

"Since you made more effort than Jason, I guess you do," Paula said.

Jason had wrapped himself up in his dark maroon bathrobe, and was claiming to be Hugh Hefner.

"I think it's imaginative," he said defensively.

"Now _this_ is a costume," Paula declared, motioning to Kelsi.

Kelsi at least had made some type of effort, wearing a dark faery costume, with a plum coloured floaty faery skirt, a dark purple tank top, faery wings and a faery wand.

* * *

Ryan had been pacing at the bottom of the stairs for fifteen minutes, waiting for Sharpay to be ready. As he paced, he was practicing with his props. Dressed in showy western cowboy style, Ryan's outfit was nothing short of spectacular. The colour scheme was black with silver detailing. Items of clothing included cowboy boots, crisp pants, a leather holster, a crisp silk shirt with detailing and a gaudy fringe, a neck bandanna and a cowboy hat. Additionally, Ryan had a toy gun in his holster which he was practicing pulling out and twisting around. He had contemplated bringing a whip but decided against it.

"Come on Shar!" Ryan called up the stairs.

Meanwhile Sharpay was in her room putting the finishing touches on her outfit. She had been invited to the party personally by Paula. The Evans' family was relatively familiar with the Hoffman's, coming from similar parts of town and Paula being the same age as Ryan and Sharpay. Whereas Sharpay may not have been a particularly huge fan of cheerleaders in general, she'd actually never had a particular problem with Paula. She was one of those girls who was just in general an all around decent human being – funny without being entertaining; outgoing without being loud; confident without being conceited. Sharpay had been a little wary of the invitation, never having found the concept of a drunken party as an appealing way to spend her Saturday evening. In general, Sharpay thought the kind of behaviour exhibited at these types of events was ridiculous and degrading.

However Ryan had been pestering her all week about coming along, insisting that they really were quite fun when you got into the spirit of things, insisting that if Sharpay took the time to get to know everyone then she might actually find they had more in common than first met the eye.

Sharpay didn't particularly care about taking the time to get to know everyone within the drunken party environment.

However, there was that one reason… there was that one blue eyed boy; that one blue eyed boy who had casually brought up the party within conversation. Why would he have brought it up if he didn't want her to go? Why would he have said he might see her there if he didn't want to see her there?

Sharpay had spent a long time contemplating her costume for the evening. She certainly had a rounded, compressive array to select from. At first she had been drawn toward the shimmery pink nylon of her genie costume. Then she decided upon her Ariel mermaid costume. However finally, it was a quick glance through her collection of wigs which sparked a sudden inspiration. Sharpay had within her collection a brunette wig. She had picked it up and put it on her head and proceeded to play with the hairstyle with no particular objective in mind. The strands of hair were flying within Sharpay's fingertips, criss crossing into a long braid.

And then it hit her.

It was perfect to go with the Princess Leia costume that was snugly stored within her collection.

At the time it had seemed like a brilliant plan, a fabulous device to wear a costume that was not only hot but also perfectly facilitated the utilisation of a brunette wig. Sharpay knew very well that her skin tone was compatible with both blonde AND brunette hair, despite what aforementioned blue eyed boys might think. Of his many admirable qualities, a fine tuned knowledge of skin tone compatibility was _not_ one of them.

Given the right setting, Sharpay wasn't afraid of showing a little skin. A bit of cleavage; or a slit up the leg; or a mini skirt. However never all at once. She was a believer in letting the male imagination work to get what it wanted. She wasn't about to give it all up at once. And now that she was standing in front of her mirror, Sharpay felt utterly ridiculous and was reminded of why it was that she had bought the costume out of impulse and never worn it before. She was reminded of why it was that she never wore bikini swimsuits; that she only tanned in a strapless bikini top in the privacy of her own backyard.

Staring in the mirror, all Sharpay could see was skin. Admittedly she had seen skimpier Princess Leia costumes than the one she had eventually purchased. Hers at least covered more than just her nipples; it incorporated a pair of tiny spandex shorts; and then the centre piece of the skirt was more than just a thin scrap dangling between her legs. But compared to what she normally wore, all she could see was skin. She could see the curve – or lack of curve – of her breasts; her abdomen which never ceased to make her feel a little nervy; a significant amount of leg. Sharpay felt a pull toward the genie costume which was still laying out on her bed. The genie costume which at least incorporated a thin layer of nylon between the bottom of the sequined bikini and the top of the pants.

"Sharpay, what ARE you doing?" Ryan's voice demanded from the door.

"I'm deciding whether I should wear this," she said. "Or do you think… maybe… the genie costume?"

"What you're wearing looks great! Come on, we're already late."

"Late is fashionable, Ry, didn't you get the memo?"

Sharpay turned on her side, biting her lip as she looked at her reflection. She stood a little straighter, attempting to suck in her stomach – a stomach that could not possibly be sucked in further. Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Sharpay, in an objective brotherly way, you really do look awesome. You're worrying about nothing. Now come on, we don't want to miss anything exciting happening."

Anything exciting… she wasn't sure what her brother defined as exciting. However it was the notion of missing out on even a minute of possible interaction with Troy which kicked Sharpay into gear. The whole crazy idea of going was throwing caution into the wind, really. Sharpay wasn't stupid. She knew that Troy loved Gabriella. She knew that they were in a serious relationship. But there was this tiny voice in the back of her head saying that maybe, just maybe, there could be a way. If she wanted it enough, if she kept hanging on – then just maybe it could happen. She glanced back at herself in the mirror one last time before grabbing her clutch purse and throwing Ryan a dazzling smile.

"I'm ready."

"Grab a coat at least Shar, it might get cold," Ryan advised.

She rolled her eyes but nevertheless didn't argue, and acquired a gold lame jacket which fell to mid thigh. "Happy?"

"Yes, and so will you when you're whinging later on that you're cold. You know that you get cold really easily."

"Your car or mine?" Sharpay asked, as they walked down the stairs.

"We could just walk, that way if we want to have a few drinks we can just walk home?" Ryan suggested.

"Ryan, would you look at my heels? I am NOT walking! Even if it is only two blocks away," Sharpay said indignantly.

"Well I was planning to drink…" Ryan said, trailing off.

"So… so was I," Sharpay stammered. "Let's just get Marci to drive us."

* * *

The Hoffman house was gradually filling with additional party goers. Superheroes, hippies, flappers, angels, gangsters and more were hanging around; talking, laughing, flirting, sampling the alcoholic punch with plastic spiders as well as the cans of beer which filled the bathtub.

Paula was very wary of the potential gatecrashers, and was also fairly adamant about her rule of ensuring everyone had at least one costume item. She spent most of the first half hour hanging by the door, handing out a set of bunny ears or devil horns to those who attempted to arrive without at least some effort put into a costume. Zeke was on Paula chat duty – keeping her company as she waited by the door to greet people.

"So… Monica said you guys kinda have been civil toward each other," Paula said casually, taking a sip from her cup of punch.

Zeke shrugged. "Yeah I guess so."

"You heard her side of it all, anyway?"

"I did. Doesn't excuse it."

"No but… it provides context."

Zeke took a large mouthful of beer. "You want me to give her another chance, don't you?" Zeke said bluntly.

Paula sighed. "You guys were happy, Zeke. I get that she fucked up but people fuck up sometimes, and she is genuinely sorry about it."

"I guess."

The conversation came to a halt with the doorbell ringing again. Paula threw the door open, her lips breaking into a smile upon seeing Sharpay and Ryan at the door.

"Hey guys!" Paula exclaimed.

Paula spontaneously gave Ryan a hug, and then turned to give Sharpay a hug. Sharpay looked a little shocked at Paula's burst of affection, awkwardly wrapping her arms around her and patting her back slightly. Zeke shook Ryan's hand in greeting and gave Sharpay a curt smile. The two had barely interacted since Zeke had rejected Sharpay's invitation to attend the Homecoming Dance together.

"Have you been drinking already?" Ryan asked with a smirk.

"Just a little," Paula admitted, as she stepped back to allow them to step inside.

"Do you want me to take your coat?" Zeke offered Sharpay.

"No. I'm cold," she said, clutching the coat a little tighter. Now that she had the security blanket of the coat covering her, letting go of it seemed almost offensive. As an afterthought, she added, "Thanks anyway."

"Anyway go on through, follow the noise," Paula said, motioning into the house.

Ryan took the lead, and Sharpay trailed behind him. He stepped out onto the deck, spotting where Gabriella, Kelsi, Jason and a few other kids were hanging out, hovering around an outdoor heat lamp.

"Howdy," Ryan said, nodding at the others.

A series of hugs and greetings and compliments about costumes were exchange. Meanwhile Sharpay remained hanging back a little, still clutching at the coat.

"Hey Sharpay," Kelsi said, smiling at her.

"Hi," Sharpay said casually.

"Is that a Princess Leia costume under there?" Jason asked, recognising it just from the hair and the bottom of the skirt.

Sharpay nodded. "Yes but I'm really cold."

Gabriella giggled. "Tell me about it. Fishnet stockings really don't do anything to provide warmth."

This was the first moment that Sharpay had really taken notice of what Gabriella was wearing. She managed to hide her look of disdain at just how hot Gabriella looked.

"No, I bet they don't," was all she could manage to say.

"I love this wig though, brunette suits you," Gabriella said with a smile.

Sharpay couldn't help but smile a little smugly. "Yes, I think so."

"Very nice," Kelsi agreed with a nod.

"So umm… who else is coming. Is umm… is Troy coming?" Sharpay asked, glancing at Gabriella. Her years of acting classes greatly assisted in making her tone sound casual when in fact she was very hopeful.

"He just texted me, he was working all day today and just finished," Gabriella replied sweetly.

"Come on, let's go get a drink," Ryan prompted his sister.

"Right. A drink. Sure," Sharpay said, and trailed after Ryan into the kitchen.

* * *

In exchange for getting the next two weekends off for the purpose of musical rehearsals, Troy had agreed to work the whole day on Saturday; taking over on dish washing duty after his lunch break.

He drove home at a dangerous speed, and began to rifle through his closet.

"Mo-om! Do I have anything costum-ey?" Troy shouted.

Lucille Bolton appeared in the door of the room a couple of minutes later to see the site of a bomb explosion.

"Did your closet vomit all over your bed and floor?"

Troy glared at her. "This is no time for sarcasm. I'm running late and Paula said she's not letting people in if they aren't wearing a costume."

"God forbid a Saturday night at home with your parents," Lucille teased. "I think we might have something in the hall closet you could work with. Find your black trousers among… all of that."

Troy pilfered through the pile and Lucille returned with a plastic sword and a black eye patch.

"A pirate!" Troy said gleefully. "Excellent."

"Just wear those black trousers and a white button up shirt. Surely that will be enough to appease Paula."

"It's good enough for me," Troy declared.

* * *

Jason had nudged Kelsi by the hand and asked quietly if she wanted another drink. She smiled and said that she would come with him. Hand in hand, they headed to the bathroom where Jason was to pick up a can of beer. Jason glanced around, as if confirming that they were alone.

"Umm… did I tell you that you look really pretty tonight?" he said, shuffling his feet.

"No," Kelsi said.

"Oh… well… you do. Look pretty that is," Jason added unnecessarily.

Kelsi smiled, blushing slightly. "Thank you. I'd uh… I'd say the same for you except that you're here in a bathrobe."

Jason grinned. "I'm snugly, you could say."

"I might need proof of that," Kelsi said.

She wrapped her arms around him, her cheek resting to his shoulder as she felt his arms enclose around her body. Kelsi drew in a sharp breath, allowing his warm to encase her. Jason finally drew away, his index finger landing beneath Kelsi's chin, tipping her head up. She smiled, drawing her hands up to the back of his neck, standing on tip toes as he leaned down.

"- beers in the… oh! Sorry!"

Kelsi and Jason jumped apart, lips having barely grazed together before being interrupted. Paula was at the doorway, showing new arrivals where some of the alcohol was being stored. It was Benny and Xavier from the Wildcats basketball squad.

"It's cool," Jason said.

Kelsi stared at the floor, feeling herself flush a little.

"Wow, this is a real party, people already sneaking off to make out in bathrooms," Benny said, smirking at Jason.

"Come on," Jason prompted Kelsi, taking her by the hand and squeezing gently. She gave him a small smile as they exited, letting him know that she was okay. "I think it's time to try some of that spider filled punch."

* * *

Ryan had led Sharpay into the kitchen and they had each taken a plastic cupful of the vodka and fruit juice punch. Sharpay had excused herself to 'use the bathroom' leaving Ryan to disappear back to his friends. Of course she hadn't really required the bathroom, and was now wandering around the party, clutching onto her cup of drink. A couple of guys were, for no apparent reason, wrestling in the middle of the hallway. Sharpay wrinkled her nose as she tentatively sidestepped them. Arriving in the kitchen, she came across a few of the junior members of the Wildcat basketball squad lining up shot glasses.

"Hi Sharpay! Did you want a tequila shot?" one of them asked.

Sharpay flashed him a dazzling smile. "No, I've got my punch," she said, holding up the cup. To punctuate the point, she took her second tentative sip from the cup since she had retrieved it twenty minutes earlier.

"Let us know if you change your mind."

"Sure. Will do."

She wandered out of the kitchen, scoping out the lounge room area. She blinked. East High had its policies banning public displays of affection; however it wasn't particularly strongly enforced. So Sharpay was no stranger to seeing couples making out in the hallways and out the front of the school. However what she wasn't accustomed to was people practically dry humping on a couch. It wasn't even 8pm; and already couples seemed to be taking advantage of an evening without parental supervision. Sharpay felt like taking a cup of ice water and throwing it on them and informing them that the Hoffman residence had about seven bedrooms upstairs which they could take their PDA into.

Only once before had Sharpay actually attended a _real_ Wildcat styled party. It had been in her freshman year of high school. One of the boys from the junior varsity football team had invited her to his party and Sharpay had tentatively gone along. She had compromised her own mantra of 'thou shalt do what thou wishes, when thou wishes' and gone to the party despite her gut instinct that it would be unfulfilling and a waste of her time. It had been the biggest party event of the year with pretty much everyone in both freshman and sophomore year attending. She had been mortified, disgusted even, by some of what she had witnessed. Chugging contests and beer bongs had been at the top of the list of activities. Such activities which subsequently led to ridiculously embarrassing behaviour, partial nudity, vomiting and the spillage of beer.

Sharpay Evans didn't find the vision of the bare ass of the football team to be enticing.

Nor did she enjoy being surrounded by the smell of vomit.

And most certainly Sharpay did not enjoy having beer spilt on her Rene Caovilla heels.

Sharpay Evans walked to the beat of her own drummer. She didn't go anywhere unless she wanted to go. She didn't do anything that she didn't want to do.

She didn't want to be there. She didn't enjoy being surrounded by what was inevitably the beginning stages of a repeat of her first freshman party.

However there was one reason and one reason alone that she had allowed Ryan's pleas for her to come to be met.

As she wandered around, head held high to provide the aura that she was comfortable within her surroundings, Sharpay was remaining within earshot of the doorbell. Each time it rang she would leap into visibility to see who had arrived.

Awaiting that blue eyed boy.

* * *

Zeke had remained on door duty with Paula, each of them taking turns to show people into the house and point out the refreshments. Zeke was returning from leading some sophomore cheerleaders in when he heard the doorbell ring again. He was a few feet away when Paula threw open the door and let out a familiar cry of hello. A few female voices gave equally excited hello's in return. He froze, a very familiar tone among them all.

Kayla, Cassie and Monica all stepped inside, exchanging hugs with Paula. He cleared his throat and shook himself from his reverie. The cool guy attitude he'd been displaying – it was only that, an attitude, a guise. Deep down, he was still hurting. Deep down, he was still torn.

He cleared his throat, shaking himself from his momentary reverie. He smirked, observing their costumes. They were all dressed in blue fairytale costumes. Cassie was wearing a blue Belle dress; Kayla in an Alice in Wonderland dress and Monica in a Dorothy dress.

"Like any of you three fit the mould of a blonde white Disney character," Zeke smirked.

"Belle was brunette, Zeke," Cassie informed him condescendingly.

"And you have black dreadlocks, Cassandra," Zeke shot back.

"What are you supposed to be anyway, some hobo?" Kayla teased.

"I'll have you know that I am Zeus, the King of the Greek Gods."

Despite the teasing banter, he exchanged a quick hug with each of the two, before standing to look at Monica.

"Hello," he said curtly.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Uh… Kay, Cassie, why don't I show you through to… away… from here," Paula stammered, not so subtly.

Monica rolled her eyes. "Slick, Paula."

Paula shot a sheepish look back as Monica was left standing with Zeke in the doorway.

"I like the costume," Monica said. "Very original. Not very complicated. We had to go and spend money to hire these."

Zeke smiled. "Well it looks cute. Have you tried the shoes?"

"Tried them?"

"You know, the little mantra, I wanna go home."

"There's no place like home?" Monica supplied.

"Yeah that one."

"Can't say I've tried it. But umm… right now, I kinda don't want to be anywhere but here."

They fell silent, only the return of Paula moving either of them into action.

"Zeke, why don't you show Monica to the party?" Paula suggested brightly.

Zeke cleared his throat. "You make it sound like Monica has never been to your house before Paula. I thought you wanted me on door duty with you?"

"I no longer require your assistance. Go enjoy the party." And with that, Paula pushed the two of them away.

* * *

Captain Jack Sparrow (a la _Pirates of the Caribbean) _arrived at the Hoffman residence about an hour after festivities had kicked off. The sound of bass pumping from inside the house could be heard from half way down the street. The driveway, front yard and street were already littered with cars. The affluent neighbourhood had probably never seen so many 1980's and 90's model cars at one time. Troy smirked at the sight of the plastic pumpkins which lined the driveway. When he arrived at the doorstep he attempted to open the door, however it was locked. He rolled his eyes and rang the doorbell, waiting patiently. Finally the door swung open.

"Troy!" Paula squealed. "TROY'S HERE!!" she shouted back into the house.

"That would be Captain Jack Sparrow to you, Nurse Hoffman," Troy said with a smirk. "Or would that be Nurse McI'mShowingMyCleavageToTheWorld?"

"Yeah, trust you to be looking at it," Paula smirked.

"It's kinda hard to miss," Troy joked, only to be thwacked on the arm.

"And FYI, Troy, you are many things – but Johnny Depp, you are not."

* * *

Paula's shriek of "TROY'S HERE!!" was enough to snap Sharpay into action. Immediately she removed her coat and positioned herself. Troy began his walk of fame, exchanging handshakes with people that he passed on his way to find his friends.

"Hi Troy," Sharpay purred.

Troy grinned at her. "Hey Sharpay. Cute costume. _Hey your worshipfulness, let's get one thing straight, I take orders from just one person – me_."

Sharpay exploded into giggles. "_It's a wonder you're still alive_. I wouldn't have picked you to be a Star Wars buff, Troy."

"Oh I'm not, but my dad loves it. Anyway, I'm gonna keep moving," he said, gesturing through to where the majority of the party goers were congregating outside. "Enjoy the party!"

Sharpay watched after him, and giggled when she saw him pass someone in a Jedi Knight costume and exchange a few quick slashes with their swords. She glanced around and casually followed his general direction. Troy paused at the door from the house to the deck, causing Sharpay to also freeze in her step, narrowing her eyes as she followed the direction of his gaze.

* * *

Paula had informed Troy that their crew was mostly congregating out on the deck so he attempted to beeline straight in that direction. Inevitably there were a few stops along the way, with various randoms wanting to have a quick chat. However Troy was exhausted from work and he wasn't in the mood for exchanging forced pleasantries. Upon reaching the door to the deck, suddenly the ache in his feet was the furthest thing from his mind. Rather, he was experiencing an ache of a different kind. He had glanced out, seeing the see of various costumes. They ranged from the shirtless Zeke to the bathrobed Jason. He narrowed his eyes, almost in disbelief at what his eyes were seeing. He had known that Paula was helping Gabriella with her costume but it really hadn't occurred to him to contemplate what he should expect. He was grateful that he hadn't had an inkling as to what he was seeing right now, because then his long day at work may have been even longer. He literally felt his penis twitch just looking at her.

Underneath her black floppy felt witches hat, her ebony curls tumbled over her shoulders. The little make up that Gabriella normally wore was light and subtle, but now she had dark mascara and eyeliner, a smokey silvery-grey adorning her eyelids, and a dark red gloss upon her kissable lips. She was wearing a black long sleeved t-shirt dress with a rounded scoop neck cutting down low, providing an ample view of Gabriella's cleavage. Just below her bust was a wide silver belt. The A-line dress would have originally fallen to mid thigh, however both the bottom of the dress and the flared wrist length sleeves had been strategically attacked with a pair of scissors. Sporadic and inconsistently shaped triangles had been cut from the end of the sleeves and the hem of the dress, the result being slits up Gabriella's thighs, several of them at an almost dangerously tantalising length. Topping off the outfit was black fishnet stockings, knee high shiny black stiletto boots, and the ragged broom in Gabriella's hand.

"Holy fuck," Troy breathed.

She didn't see him at first, immersed in her conversation with Katie and Kelsi. However she sensed his arrival, and sensed that she was being stared at. Her eyes flickered around the deck, and finally landed on the blue eyed boy in the doorway. There was no hiding that Troy Bolton's gaze was filled with pure lust. She quietly excused herself from the girls, traversing across the deck to meet Troy just in front of the doorway.

"Hey you," she said coyly.

"H… hi," Troy managed to stutter.

"You um… you seem to approve?"

"Approve would be understatement of the century," Troy said, allowing his eyes to run freely over her body, examining the swell of her breast, glancing at the length – or lack thereof – of the dress. He couldn't help but think that he wanted her to drop the broom and bend over to pick it up. "I'm kind of thinking that I don't want anyone else to be able to look at you right now."

"Welcome to every day of my life with you," Gabriella teased.

* * *

Paula had been the host of a few parties over the years, and as those who had been in attendance in previous years were accustomed to, she was the queen of the party game initiation. Games which would be met by a third of the guests groaning in contempt; a third with complacent amusement; and the final third with genuine excitement.

Paula had produced a ping pong sized rubber ball and introduced the concept. Two participants – one male, one female – stand close together, holding the rubber ball between their stomachs. The object of the game is, without the utilisation of hands, to get the ball up to the chin of the shorter person.

Liana was the first to volunteer to give it a go, very quickly horny football team quarterback Brad set down his can of beer and volunteered to be her partner. Once the ice had been broken, a few other sets of people were more than willing to give it a go.

"I don't even understand how it works," Kelsi remarked, tilting her head in observance.

"You wanna try?" Jason suggested.

Kelsi's eyes widened. "Oh… no. It's okay. Everyone will laugh."

"We can just do it over here," Jason said, gesturing to where they were in the corner of the room observing. "Paula has a whole bunch of the little balls."

Without even waiting for her response, he disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared just a couple of minutes with another ball. Jason held it up with his left hand, a smile toying on his face. He tossed it in the air, catching it with his right hand.

"You know you wanna try."

Kelsi picked up her cup of punch, downing the remaining half in one continual chug.

"Let's do it," she declared.

Jason grinned as they tentatively stepped toward one another and he placed the ball between them, resting about at his belly button and so a bit above hers. Kelsi's eyes were fixated on the ball, she couldn't bare to look directly at him. The problem was that Kelsi kept exploding into giggles and would move away, letting the ball drop to the ground. About eight times they attempted it, not even moving the ball an inch without Kelsi's giggle attack causing yet another failed attempt.

Meanwhile in the centre of attention, Troy had dragged Gabriella up to have a go. To him, it was the ideal opportunity to enjoy his girlfriends costume up close and personal without immediately dragging her into a corner. Gabriella also had a case of the giggles, however it wasn't because they were so inefficient as a team. It was because she knew that Troy was very deliberately drawing out the process. It didn't take him long to work out a technique of how they could move and rub to get the ball rolling up – and he used the knowledge of that technique to move it further away from the desired location.

"Oh excuse me babe," Troy said, as he wound up crouching down with the ball on his upper chest but perilously close to Gabriella's most private of regions.

"You didn't do that on purpose at all, did you," she said with a giggle.

"Well you're not helping me much here, I'm doing all the work!"

"You keep telling me to stay still!"

Just away from the commotion, Sharpay was watching the 'game' with narrowed eyes.

"Oh please, surely it cannot be THAT difficult," she said huffily.

"Wanna give it a go?" someone asked her.

Sharpay looked up to see a guy smiling smarmily at her, wriggling his eyebrows.

"Um, try NO. Now fuck off," she snapped.

* * *

Chad arrived at Paula's house in a skidding halt outside. He'd received a phone call that morning from his manager at the grocery store asking if he wanted to come in for an extra shift. Chad jumped at the opportunity to pick up some extra cash, however the result was that he was running late for the party. Fortunately, he had his back up 'Halloween' costume that he had worn every year for the last three years. He simply dressed as he saw fit, and wore his axe hat – being a baseball cap with a pretend axe stuck in it, and plastic 'blood' dripping from the wound.

The door was locked when he turned the handle and so he pressed the doorbell. The door was almost immediately opened by the hostess herself.

"Paula, why on earth are you on door duty?" Chad exclaimed. "Just leave the door unlocked and do a sweep every so often to make sure you know everyone here."

"Hello to you too," Paula said in amusement.

"Seriously Paula. Every time you have a party, you spend the whole time trying to make everything perfect and forget to enjoy yourself."

"Well, at least I'm consistent. Kinda like you and that hat which you have worn to every Halloween or Friday the 13th themed party in like, forever."

Chad closed the door behind him and linked arms with Paula.

"Come on," he prompted.

"But…"

"No buts," he ordered. He then pulled a bottle of vodka out from behind his back. "Now, you're going to show me where I can put this, then you and I are going to collect some beverages and go chill."

Paula allowed herself to be dragged to the kitchen to retrieve drinks and then out to the deck. A group of chairs had been pulled around the outdoor heat lamp, where a group of the Wildcats including Kelsi, Gabriella, Jason, Ryan and Troy were all gathered.

"Hey Chad!" Ryan called out cheerfully.

"Tell me why you lot let her keep standing by that door like an idiot for so long," Chad demanded.

"You know Paula. That's what she does," Troy said casually.

"Not if you don't let her."

Chad pulled over another chair and pushed Paula into it.

"Chad, you're being a bit melodramatic here," Paula remarked.

"I'm being your friend. By the way, tomorrow morning when I'm mooching around here ridiculously hung over and not helping you with the clean up, I want you to remember this moment when I was being so nice to you," Chad smirked. "Now, how much has everyone drank and how much do I need to catch up on?"

"I can't speak for them, I haven't been here long myself," Troy said. "But we do have this jug of punch sitting right here."

"You guys brought out a jug of punch?" Paula asked incredulously.

"Saves getting up to go inside," Jason pointed out.

"You lazy shits. You wouldn't know there's a bunch of athletes sitting here," Paula remarked.

"Hey, I've been working all day," Troy said defensively. "I spend _three hours _washing dishes today. How fucked is that?"

Jason stared at Troy incredulously. "I spent nearly all of my freaking summer washing dishes while you lot were playing golf and swimming and playing piano. _That _is fucked."

"Yes Ryan we all know that you are special and have an iPhone. Now stop sitting there and showing off with it," Gabriella said, glancing over at him.

"Yeah, you've been on that thing practically since you got here," Kelsi chimed in.

Chad peered over Ryan's shoulder. "He's on AIM," he informed the girls.

Ryan snatched his phone away out of Chad's eyeline. "A little privacy would be great, thanks."

Chad merely laughed and went to retrieve a chair to pull up for himself.

"You're at a party man," Troy pointed out. "What's this privacy thing you're talking about?"

"Why are you on AIM? Just about everyone you know is here," Kelsi pointed out.

"You said it. Just about everyone. I'm not one of those sad people who only associate with people within one social circle."

"So I've never looked at one of these iPhones properly, how does it work?" Gabriella said casually, leaning over.

Ryan held the phone further away. "Nice try Gabriella, but you have sat playing with my phone on more than one occasion."

Gabriella pouted. "I don't like it when people are all secretive."

"Tough cookies."

Ryan looked up to see the girls on either side of him both attempting to peer over.

"All right, that's it," he declared, and pushed his chair back to stand up and move away from them.

Just as quickly, Kelsi pushed her own chair back and followed him. "No, now that you're being all weird about it, we wanna know."

Gabriella also stood up, chiming in. "That, or get off your phone."

"I won't be long, just give me a minute, I'm just saying goodbye to someone."

Kelsi went to snatch at his hand, and Ryan yelped as he jumped up so he could hold it far above her reach, and then jogged away, in the direction of the backyard.

"Go get him, Kelsi!" Gabriella called.

"You have to help me!" Kelsi called back.

"I'm wearing stiletto boots, the best I can do is cheer you from here!"

As the exchange went on, Jason was watching Kelsi chase Ryan around with narrowed eyes. Troy smirked, seeing Jason's expression.

"Welcome to my world, man," Troy said, clapping Jason on the back.

"You both are fucking idiots," Chad said under his breath, shaking his head.

"Captain Jack Sparrow! I challenge you to a duel!"

Troy glanced up to see Zeke standing behind him, lightening bolt in hand.

"A duel?" Troy repeated.

"Yes. A sword fight."

"You don't have a sword."

"I have three lightening bolts."

"You actually think your stupid piece of cardboard can take my sword? My sword which, when you press this button, it lights up and makes a _swish_ sound?"

"Lights and swish sounds will be no match to the mighty force of Zeus."

Troy stood, and picked up his sword. "On guard."

The boys counted down simultaneously, "3, 2, 1, now!"

As the 'sword' fight unfolded, it seemed that Troy's prediction indeed came true. The cardboard lightening bolts simply weren't a match for the relatively sturdy sword, and it took just a couple of minutes before one final blow of the sword connecting with the bolt for the cardboard to bend in two.

"Arrr! Walk the gangplank, traitor!" Troy declared.

Zeke was staring at his piece of cardboard which was now bent at the middle and flopping. "That was just fucking cruel, Troy."

"What did you expect, you've got a piece of cardboard man. I've got a hard plastic sword that makes swish noises."

"This isn't over!" Zeke declared.

* * *

Taylor and Martha entered into the house, finding the door unlocked. They stepped in somewhat tentatively.

"I think it's the right place," Martha remarked, watching as someone wearing a white sheet as a ghost and someone wearing a _Scream_ mask were chatting in the hallway.

"Look at some of these costumes," Taylor said in awe. "My pair of devil horns aren't exactly much of a match, are they?"

"Told you that you should have come as a dark faery like me and Kelsi."

Taylor raised her eyebrows, looking at Martha's fairy wings and skirt.

"Yeah, not my thing."

"Anyway I'm going to the bathroom, I'll meet you out there," Martha said.

Taylor nodded and headed through the house in the direction of the backyard, where the majority of the noise seemed to be coming from. She stood at the door to the deck, frozen. Her eyes fell upon where her friends were all sitting around. Troy and Zeke appeared to be in some kind of discussion about a piece of yellow cardboard that Zeke was motioning to frantically. Ryan appeared to be facing an interrogation from Gabriella and Kelsi. Jason and Paula were chatting.

And Chad was there, pouring himself a drink.

And standing beside him, leaning over in a not so subtle 'check out my tits' sort of way, was none other than Kayla.

Taylor swallowed and stepped back into the house. She was wandering about, scoping about the party when suddenly she heard her name being called excitedly.

"Taylor!"

Taylor glanced into the kitchen, a smile curving onto her lips. Jerome from the debate team was calling her over to where he, Sarah and Helena were currently standing with shot glasses lined up in front of them.

"Hey guys, how you going?" she asked.

"Awesome. Do you want a shot?" Jerome asked.

"What are you shotting?"

Sarah held the bottle up. "Tequila. Jerome brought it."

Taylor smiled in amusement. "Sure. Why not? I need to catch up."

* * *

Gabriella and Troy had left their usual crew of people, heading over to talk to some of the junior basketballers who were in the process of setting up a beer bong.

"Sure you don't want a go, captain?" Xavier asked.

Troy shook his head. "Nah man, I'm good. But you guys go for it. As long as you're not still hungover on Monday. Because I guarantee you that Coach would find a way to blame me if you all turned up hung over."

As they stood talking with the guys, Gabriella's arm was around Troy's back, her hand sitting snugly within his back pocket with her thumb hooked over the edge of the square of material. Troy's fingertips were lightly dancing, at first over the small of her back where his hand had been resting. They then ran up her back slightly, along her spine, and back down to rest on her lower back for a moment. It was an absentminded dance, not even making the decision to do it had he contemplated the affect upon her. It was only when Gabriella drew in a sharp breath and squeezed his ass through sheer reflex that he registered what he was doing. He smirked, taking pleasure in the fact that his subconscious had wreaked revenge. She knew very well that from the moment he had laid eyes on her that night, he had been in a state of longing.

"Hey Martha!" Kelsi's voice rang out excitedly. "My fellow faery!"

Gabriella glanced up, seeing that Martha had appeared in the doorway to the deck. She went to retrieve her arm from Troy in a move to go and talk to her friend, but Troy instead turned around, allowing them to take a few steps in the direction of Martha without separating. Gabriella gave him a small smile, to which Troy winked in return.

"Hey, when did you get here?" Gabriella asked.

"Not long ago, with Taylor."

"Tay's here? Where is she?" Gabriella asked.

Martha smirked. "She's doing shots with the debate team."

Troy laughed. "There's a sentence you don't hear every day."

"Taylor just arrived and she's already doing shots?" Gabriella asked.

* * *

Kelsi was a lone woman in her mission. It appeared that Gabriella had desisted from attempting to uncover the truth about Ryan's secret AIM conversation. However Kelsi now found it a matter of principle to uncover the truth. Ryan had tucked his phone away for a while; however surely enough he had brought it back out again and continued to type away. Kelsi pretended to have no interest in the matter, casually standing up and walking past. In a sudden movement, a steal that her Wildcat basketball friends would be proud of, Kelsi snatched the phone from Ryan's hands and darted away.

"KELSI LOUISE NEILSON, YOU GIVE THAT BACK!" Ryan's shrill cry rang out as he leapt to his feet, chasing after her.

Kelsi's lack of stature came as an advantage, efficiently dodging around the maze of semi drunken revellers. She took a moment to glance back, seeing that Ryan had wound up being momentarily trapped behind a drunken conga line which had blocked his path. She continued to dart away, up the stairs. Only once up the other end of the upstairs corridor did Kelsi finally dared to stare at the screen.

There was a text message received from someone listed as 'Chase.'

_Aww poor sweetheart. But maybe your friends are right, you're at a party, go get massively smashed and enjoy yourself. Don't do anything I wouldn't do! – Chase xo_

Kelsi was staring at the screen, her lips curving into a slight smile as she read the text and it dawned upon her exactly what she was reading. Ryan caught up, realising that she had officially succeeded in her mission.

"Umm… that… is… from… a girl I know. Yes. A girl. Her name is… it's… it's Jill but we call her Chase because… umm…. I… I go to dance classes with her," Ryan stammered.

Kelsi started laughing. "Is this all that you were trying to hide? Here I was thinking you were involved in some drug deal or something."

"I wasn't trying to _hide_ it, why would I need to hide that I am texting a girl?" Ryan asked, attempting to sound indignant but coming across as more scared than anything.

Kelsi took a deep breath. By nature, Kelsi didn't like to rock the boat. If someone didn't want to discuss something, she would leave it be. Sharpay's Freudian slip about her feelings for Troy had been left untouched by Kelsi. But with four large cups of alcoholic punch in her system, Kelsi was feeling considerably uninhibited.

"Ryan, I'm not stupid. I know that you're… you know… gay," she said, keeping her voice low.

Ryan whipped his head around frantically, checking that no one was in ear shot. "That's… that's…" Ryan spluttered. "That's ridiculous!"

One hand on Kelsi's hip, one raised eyebrow, was all it took for Ryan to realise that he was defeated. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the nearest vacant bedroom, and closed the door behind them. Ryan took a breath.

"You know? How? Did someone tell you?!"

Kelsi shook her head. "How long have you and I been friends?"

"A while. Years. Since middle school," Ryan answered slowly, a little confused as to what her point was.

"Do you really think that I am oblivious to everything you do? It's not… I mean… sure you're not open about it but… come on, seriously, your face lights up every time a male dancer auditions for the musical."

"Oh."

Kelsi smirked. "It's okay, Ryan."

"Why… why didn't you say anything sooner?" Ryan asked.

"The opportunity never arose. And tonight I've had a few drinks and here I am and I blurted it out."

"Oh."

"Gabriella knows that I know, by the way. I umm… I took a leap and assumed that she knew. We were having a talk about the whole… you and Troy fiasco and, well, I brought it up."

"Oh good, so now I've got my friends gossipping about me behind my back," Ryan remarked.

"Actually, no, we were gossipping about Troy and we haven't spoken about you since. Well, not in that context."

"Oh."

"That seems to be a popular element of your vernacular tonight."

"Well Kels, one minute you're chasing me in an attempt to invade my privacy and the next I find out that you already know what is pretty much my deepest darkest secret so excuse me for not having many syllables within me."

Kelsi blinked, taking in the implications of this remark. "You're upset that I know. You…. It bothers you that I know."

"What?"

"It makes sense I guess. You told Gabriella and not me so…"

"Kelsi!" Ryan exclaimed. "No! No! You're…. shit, you've been my friend for such a long time, don't say shit like that!"

"Well you don't exactly look happy about it. I guess… I thought you'd be relieved that I knew. I suspected for a while and it gradually became suspicion and for a while, it didn't bother me because I assumed you hadn't told anyone. And then I worked out that you must have told Gabriella and she confirmed that she knew and… I guess that hurts a little. That you didn't tell me. And since you told her, the two of you have been all close and…"

"What, and you and I haven't?"

"Not like you and Gabriella."

Ryan exhaled. "Kelsi, you have to know how important you are to me. For years, you've been the only person at school who has taken me seriously, not only as a performer but as a person independent to my sister. You have to know how much that means to me. And we have fun together, we laugh and we joke and… and… I know we don't exactly hang out outside of school just you and I or anything but… that stuff doesn't matter."

"I'm being stupid I know. Maybe it's the alcohol."

"No you're not, you've obviously thought about this."

"It doesn't matter," Kelsi insisted. "All that matters is that you know that I know. And that you can stop pretending to be someone that you're not."

"I told Gabriella… it was like…" Ryan took a breath. "Becoming friends with Gabriella was almost representative of… of accepting who I am. By admitting who I was to her, it felt like I was accepting who I was in order to forge a real friendship. It came up more directly because I knew that there was speculation that I had feelings for her. And I was worried that she might have thought that as well. So I quashed it."

"Okay," Kelsi said in a small voice.

"Hang on, I'm not done. You said it before. You said… you said that I can stop pretending to be someone that I'm not. That's exactly it, Kels! I don't have to pretend with you. I'm not defined by being gay or not being gay. With you, I'm just Ryan. Who I'm attracted to… or who I'm not… I never felt like it mattered with us. Which was good, because it's only really over the last six months that I've really kinda come to accept who I am. But it never mattered with you, we could just laugh and joke and have fun and talk about music and… and that is what I love about you and our friendship."

Kelsi felt slight tears springing to her eyes. "I don't know if it's the alcohol making me emotional or just me being emotional. What the hell, I'll just go with it."

She engulfed Ryan in a tight hug. He was surprised by the vigour of the hug, however he simply smiled, wrapped his arms around her and held onto her tightly.

* * *

After Ryan and Kelsi had ran away in the iPhone tussle, Gabriella had scurried away to go find Taylor. Martha and Paula returned back inside the house to do the rounds, check on everything and fix up the refreshments. And Zeke and Jason had disappeared with the intent of fixing Zeke's lightening bolt.

And then there were two.

There was a time when being around Troy and Chad, you wouldn't be able to get a word in inchways. If they weren't speaking animatedly about basketball, they were arguing about a video game. If they weren't bitching about Ms. Darbus, they were discussing upcoming movie releases.

And now that each of them had so much going on in their lives, so much that they could potentially be talking about, seeking advice about, generally venting about – and they were sitting in silence. It wasn't a comfortable silence. It was an awkward silence. Troy's eyes were darting round the deck, observing the random groups of people who had forged. Chad suddenly found his sneakers to be really fascinating.

"I'm going to go get another beer," Troy said abruptly. "You want?"

Chad shook his head. "I'm good."

"Okay then."

* * *

Ryan and Kelsi emerged back down stairs to the party, exchanging one last tight hug and a chaste, friendly kiss on the cheek. They headed back out to the deck, discovering Chad sitting alone.

"Hey, have you seen Jason?" Kelsi asked.

"He went in with Zeke to help fix the lightening bolts."

Kelsi rolled her eyes. "Right. Thanks."

She squeezed Ryan on the arm before disappearing back inside. Ryan collapsed into the chair beside Chad, and took a sip from the cup of punch he and Kelsi had retrieved on their way back out.

"Kelsi knows," Ryan said in a low voice.

Chad shrugged. "So what?"

"It's just… weird."

Chad lifted his can of beer to his lips, and took a long mouthful. "Jason was giving you evils earlier."

"What?" Ryan said, aghast. "What did I ever do to him?"

"When you and Kelsi were fighting about your phone and frolicking round in the yard."

"Oh for fuck's sake," Ryan cursed.

"Yeah. Bolton didn't help. As usual he makes everything about him and said something like, welcome to my world."

Ryan looked slightly taken aback. "Claws in."

"Huh?"

"As usual he makes everything about him?" Ryan repeated.

"He does," Chad said, bitterly.

"Every time I think that I'm in the loop and up to date with everything that is going on, I discover how wrong I am."

"What were the girls going on about with your phone anyway?" Chad asked, changing the subject.

Ryan shrugged. "It's no big deal. I was just on AIM is all."

"With who? Everyone you know is here."

"Just… someone I met online a couple of nights ago."

"Oh. That kind of someone hey," Chad said knowingly. "Hook in."

Ryan shrugged. "I dunno. It's cool, just talking to someone… we were talking about the Jonas Brothers and arguing about whether Joe or Kevin is hotter and… you don't need to hear about that, do you?"

"Not so much."

The guys fell quiet, the sounds of _Umbrella_ and girls singing along filling the silence. Each took a long mouthful of the alcoholic beverages they clasped.

"How is Jayme?" Ryan asked.

"She's fine," Chad answered shortly.

"And your mom?" Ryan prodded.

Chad let out a sigh. "Don't get me wrong, Evans. I appreciate your concern. But… I'd rather not talk about it. I'm here to escape the monotonous drag that is my home life."

Ryan nodded. "Okay. But if you ever want to talk or…"

"Yeah man. I got it." Chad gave Ryan a small smile. "Thanks."

* * *

"Hey you," Kelsi said, coming up behind Jason and Zeke who were busy with electrical tape and the yellow cardboard. She rested her hand gently on the small of Jason's back. He flashed her a toothy grin.

"Hey," he responded warmly. "Look, we fixed it!"

She smiled. "Well done."

"I think it needs to be sturdier," Zeke mused.

"You wanna go hang out the back?" Kelsi asked Jason softly.

He nodded. "Good luck man. Show me the finished product."

They took a quick trip via the bathroom so that Jason could grab another beer, and then he led her out the back, continuing from the deck into the garden.

"Leading a girl out into the woods, Mr. Cross?" Kelsi said cheekily.

"The woods? You mean, an upper class suburban backyard?"

She laughed. "Yeah. The woods."

In the very back corner of the yard, there was a swing chair. Jason held out his arm, gesturing her to sit down.

"You know umm… at like, every party that we've been at over the last year, I wanted to spend like the whole time talking and hanging with you and just you," Jason confessed.

Kelsi ducked her head, a coy smile on her lips. "Well that is mutual."

They were sitting a little apart. Kelsi shifted a little, her thigh now barely touching Jason's. Her right hand was rested on her leg. Jason took a breath, and somewhat awkwardly took her hand in his.

"You don't seem like a hand holding kind of guy," Kelsi said quietly.

"Guess you bring it out in me," Jason said.

She giggled. A slight breeze blew, the wind rustling the leaves in the tree above. Kelsi shivered a little.

"Are you cold?" Jason asked, concern filling his face.

"No, no, it's okay," Kelsi insisted. The last thing she wanted to do was return to the party.

"You are," Jason said. "I don't have a jacket to offer but you can have my bathrobe."

"Are you wearing anything under it?" Kelsi asked with a giggle.

Jason smirked. "Denim shorts and a sweater."

"Well…"

Jason stood up and removed the item. He pulled Kelsi up and placed the bathrobe around her. She held her arms out to slip them through the armholes, giggling the whole time.

"This is huge!" she giggled. "But also very warm."

They settled back onto the chair, once again sitting close together. Jason was a little more comfortable with picking up Kelsi's hand and entwining his fingers through hers.

"See, this is why I figured I'd be classy and wear a bathrobe. Because you always get cold. And it's like the job of the guy to make sure his girlfriend is warm."

Kelsi sat back a little, and dropped his hand. "What did you just say? The job of the guy to make sure his… _who_… Is warm?"

Jason's eyes widened. "Oh… oh! Umm…. Well… you see… umm…" he scratched the back of his head before clearing his throat. "Is that… okay?"

"Are you… are you… are you saying that I'm… that I'm…"

"Yeah. If you wanna be."

"If I wanna be? Where is the 'if' in this?"

"Are you saying yes?"

"Yes! Of course I'm saying yes!"

Kelsi threw her arms around Jason's neck. Jason was a little surprised by the force of her hug, but it was certainly nice having her body so warmly pressed up against his. He held her close, before pulling away. His hand cupped the side of her face, his thumb rubbing along her chin. Kelsi's eyes automatically fluttered closed as she allowed his lips to press against hers, her lips instinctively parting to allow his tongue entrance to her mouth.

* * *

Gabriella had managed to disentangle herself from Troy, informing him that she needed to use the bathroom. On her way back from the bathroom, she swung via the kitchen and almost fell over. Her eyes boggled, watching as Taylor licked Jerome's neck, picked up a shot glass and tipped the liquid into her throat, and then ate a piece of lime that was situated between Jerome's lips. The girls from the debate team whistled and cheered. Gabriella cleared her throat.

"Tay!" she exclaimed.

Taylor spun around. "Gabriella!" she said with a squeal. "You're here! And the outfit, gorgeous!"

"Thanks," Gabriella said. "Do you guys mind if I borrow Taylor?"

"Go ahead," Sarah said.

Gabriella linked arms with Taylor, leading her into the hallway.

"WHAT was that?!" Gabriella hissed.

Taylor looked confused. "What was what?"

"The… the licking and the lime eating!"

"It's called a body shot, Gabriella, you've done them before."

"I know what it is, I was more so referring to the fact that you were doing it with Jerome!"

"So what? It was just a shot, it didn't mean anything, and I am single."

"Yeah, as of last weekend. What do you think Chad would have thought if he saw that?" Gabriella asked.

Taylor sighed. "You know what, I don't really care. I've spent the last month working my life around Chad and his weirdness. Hence ending things."

"I know Taylor, I know that. Just… think about it. How would you feel if you saw Chad doing that with another girl?"

Taylor paused. "Okay. Okay. Maybe it was a bit thoughtless. But you know, I'd had a couple of shots and…."

"How many shots have you done so far?" Gabriella asked.

"Only three or four," Taylor said airily.

Gabriella shook her head. "Taylor… I'm worried about you."

"Oh please, you were running around drunk as a skunk at Troy's birthday party last year."

"I'm concerned about why it is that you are drinking."

"What? Because my ex-boyfriend is cosied up with Kayla?"

"Okay, I was around when they were talking before and they were doing just that, _talking_. You don't have the right to get narky about that."

"I know I don't. Doesn't mean that it doesn't sting," Taylor said.

"Come on, let's go outside and talk about this," Gabriella prompted, linking arms with Taylor and heading through the house.

"I don't need to talk about it."

"Yes you do," Gabriella said.

"Your dress really does look hot by the way. Paula did a good job. Bet Troy boy was impressed."

Gabriella smiled coyly. "He seemed to like it. He has barely looked at my face since he arrived."

"Someone's gonna get lucky tonight," Taylor said in a sing song voice, as they stepped outside onto the deck.

Gabriella's eyes widened, glancing around to make sure no one had overheard.

"Get lucky? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe you shouldn't be asking me about this when I've had four shots and a few cups of punch in like a half hour," Taylor said, punctuating the point by stumbling, almost tripping over, and then bursting into giggles.

"Maybe I shouldn't. Anyway, I wanted to talk about you," Gabriella said, leading Taylor around the side of the house, just away from where people were gathered in groups on the deck. "Taylor, seriously, are you okay? I feel like I've hardly seen you since…"

"Since I broke up with Chad?" Taylor said bluntly. "Yes, that's because I avoid you guys. And I am very good at steering conversations so that when we're in class, we just talk about the work or Troy or anything about you."

"You don't need to avoid us," Gabriella insisted. "You keep saying that it's better that you broke up with Chad before some massive fight happened. You should be able to be mature about it."

"Should be able to. Don't want to be," Taylor said. "Look I came tonight, you should be glad I even did that."

"I am glad you came!" Gabriella insisted.

"But since you're all hot looking, like I said, Troy will monopolise your time sooner rather than later."

"Seemed like you found people of your own to entertain you," Gabriella remarked.

"I did! I really like my debating friends. I've always liked Jerome but we never really had any classes together; he's into the humanities and I do the sciences. You know he is my chief editor for the Yearbook Committee?"

"You told me that," Gabriella said warily. "Taylor… do you like this guy?"

Taylor shrugged. "He's nice and cute. But…"

"He's not Chad?"

Taylor sighed. "I don't like talking about this. Let's not talk about it. I mean…."

Taylor trailed off, and peered into the distance.

"Taylor?" Gabriella ventured.

Taylor gasped. "Look, look!" she whispered urgently, gesturing madly.

Gabriella followed Taylor's gesture, her own jaw dropping.

In the back corner of the garden, they had spotted a young couple cosied up on the swing chair. None other than Jason Cross and Kelsi Nielson.

"Aww… they're so cute," Taylor gushed.

"Jason, let her breathe for Pete's sake," Gabriella remarked, before tearing her eyes away. "Okay we shouldn't be watching that and I am freaking freezing out here."

"See, this is how my costume is practical."

"Costume? You're wearing jeans and a sweater!"

"Devil horns," Taylor reminded her.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Right."

"I knew they were dating but I didn't realise it was… well… like that already!" Taylor exclaimed, as they stumbled back towards the house.

"Neither did I," Gabriella said. "Kelsi should be telling me about this."

"Why should she? Just because everyone knows all about you and Troy."

"I do not tell everyone everything! I only really talk to you about it. I mean… about _that _kind of stuff!"

"Yes, but when people make suggestions about hanging out on Thursdays and the two of you immediately refuse and proceed to give each other googly mental undressing one another eyes – people don't need to be told explicitly to get it."

Gabriella didn't even realise that Taylor had led them straight back toward the kitchen, where her debating friends were still hanging out.

"Are you guys doing more shots?" Gabriella asked.

"No, we decided to take a break from them," Jerome said.

"Good idea," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

"We're gonna play a drinking game though, are you girls in?" Sarah asked.

"Yes! Yes I am!" Taylor declared.

"I'll pass," Gabriella said. "I might go and try to find… someone."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Taylor said solemnly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and grabbed another cup of punch before undertaking her pursuit of Troy. Eventually she found him in the lounge room, also known as the dance room. However Troy wasn't dancing, he was sitting in an arm chair, can of beer in his hand. The dancing portion of the evening hadn't quite kicked off, instead most of the people in the room were randomly sitting around chatting and watching in amusement as a select group were trying to instigate others to join in and dance. Gabriella stood in the doorway and glanced around, as though looking for a place to sit. Troy motioned to his lap with a slight smile. Gabriella followed the instruction, but instead of perching on his knees, she kneeled with a leg on either side of his legs, straddling him.

"Hello you," Troy greeted her, lips meeting for a soft kiss.

"Taylor and I just saw Jason and Kelsi making out on the swing chair," Gabriella informed him.

"So?"

"Isn't that huge?"

Troy shrugged. "They're going out. I'd expect that from them."

"But… it's Jason and Kelsi! It took him like nine months to get up the nerve to ask her out!"

"So there's a lot of pent up attraction there," Troy pointed out.

Gabriella shrugged. "I guess."

"Why are you so focused on other people's making out habits anyway," Troy murmured.

He reached over to place his can of beer on the side table beside the arm chair, and then allowed his hands to run up Gabriella's sides. Gabriella took a sip of her mouth of punch and then Troy took the cup from her hand to put it on the table next to his beer. Her arms fell onto his shoulders.

"Why, whose making out habits should I be focused upon?" Gabriella asked coyly, leaning forward a little.

Troy's left hand snaked around her, caressing the back of her neck as he sat up a little.

"I can think of a few ideas," he murmured near her ear, before pulling back and allowing his lips to meet hers, tongues performing a slow and languorous dance.

"Hmm… definitely focused upon that one now," Gabriella whispered once they pulled apart.

"Good. Can I just say that this is an excellent height you are seated at."

As she was straddling him, the extra height placed Gabriella's cleavage around Troy's direct line of vision. Gabriella smirked.

"There's not much there to see. Even with the magic bra."

"Oh shut up," Troy said.

He leaned forward, trailed his tongue along her neck, and placed nips and kisses and suckles along the way. Gabriella had to repress a moan, and was grateful that she was facing away from any potential voyeurs. Troy's lips were venturing further south, and were now suckling at the swell of her breast. Her eyes rolled backward as she attempted to remain vocally neutral. Finally, she had to pull him away and instead crashed her lips into his, moaning slightly into the kiss.

"How much have you had to drink?" Gabriella enquired, as she pulled back.

"A bit."

"More than a bit?"

"Given that I haven't been here that long… yes."

"Don't drink too much."

"Why, because you don't want me to be drunk and then hung over at rehearsal tomorrow?" Troy teased. "You do remember that Darbus isn't gonna be there, right? Ryan will be in charge."

Gabriella shook her head. "No, that's not why. Because if you want to get off tonight, alcohol might impair those abilities."

Troy smirked. "Are you proposing that me getting off is an option on the table?"

"You getting off is pretty much always an option on the table."

* * *

Sharpay had been roaming the party for a half hour. Her actions may have appeared aimless but really, they were rather pointed. She'd gone outside to where she'd seen the Wildcats hanging out earlier, and noted that the group had now dispersed. She'd soon after seen Gabriella and Taylor in a discussion in the hallway. This had provided Sharpay with a sudden spark of opportunity. She went back outside, making sure that Troy wasn't hiding out there, and then searched through the kitchen, the beer/bathroom, the family room. Her final stop was the lounge room. She froze in the doorway.

She found Troy.

There he was, sitting in an arm chair.

Sitting in an arm chair with Gabriella in his lap.

Her witch's hat had been disposed, and as she sat straddling him, they were kissing. They weren't just kissing; they were furiously, passionately, desperately kissing. Gabriella's hips were rocking slightly as they kissed, and if Sharpay didn't know better, she would have suspected that Troy's fly was undone and the ultimate act of exhibitionism was taking place in the Hoffman lounge room.

It was a gut wrenching, heart breakingly painful sight - but she couldn't tear her eyes away. She couldn't help but be transfixed by the rocking, by Troy's firm hands tenderly caressing the back of her neck, running down her back and squeezing her ass. They finally came up for air, and sat with foreheads touching, noses rubbing slightly. The intent gaze into each other's eyes spoke a thousand words, and before Sharpay knew it, their lips were once again connected.

She couldn't take it.

Sharpay backed out of the room, stumbling as she backed into someone.

"Watch it!" she snapped to the girl she had ran into, and continued walking. She paced backwards and forwards in the hallway before disappearing into the sanctuary of the little room with only a toilet and a sink. She allowed herself to sit on the toilet, lid closed, with her head in her hands. No coherent thought was running through her brain. It was only the banging on the toilet door that broke her from her reverie. She wearily stood and in a moment of insanity, walked back down the hallway and to the entry into the lounge room. She peeked inside.

No change.

Sharpay's fist began to clench involuntarily around the cup of liquid she had been carrying since she had first arrived at the party an hour and a half earlier. She glanced down. She'd almost forgotten that she'd been carrying the drink with her, it had just become an accessory. She stared down into the cup, the yellowy-orangish coloured beverage staring at her, taunting her. She glanced back up. Sharpay's eyes narrowed as she stared at the grinding couple in the armchair. She brought the cup to her lips and tilted her head back, taking one mouthful of the now warm liquid. Her throat remained open and the cup remained tipped, taking another mouthful, and then another, and drinking the entire contents of the cup.

The whole time, her eyes did not leave the blue eyed boy and the brunette he was attached to.

Sharpay spun around, moving in a frenzy toward the kitchen where the punch was located. Zeke was standing at the punch bowl, meticulously scooping punch into his cup, carefully avoiding the pretend spiders. Sharpay tapped her foot impatiently, arms folded across her chest. Finally, she swooped forward and snatched the cup out of Zeke's hand.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, and then looked up to see who had claimed the cup from his possession. His expression softened upon seeing Sharpay's head thrown back, chugging the drink down swiftly. She scooped more punch into the cup and took another mouthful before handing the cup back to him.

"Sorry. I was thirsty," Sharpay said in a mockingly sweet tone.

"Are you okay?" Zeke asked.

"Fucking fabulous."

* * *

Ryan couldn't help but reflect upon the irony of the situation. A couple of the footballers had come to the party dressed as the Men in Black, carrying toy water guns with them. The result had been a water fight with a few of the girls, including Paula and Liana. Now, Ryan was on the dance floor, music pumping, in a wet cheerleader sandwich.

Ryan might have been imagining the evil looks he was getting from more than one male observer. However he was relatively certain it wasn't alcohol induced paranoia. Because in that moment, he was in the midst of a straight man's wet dream.

Too bad he couldn't appreciate it.

* * *

Chad had never felt so lost at a party. He was just so used to spending his time running around with Troy and Jason and Zeke; that now with all of his friends occupied, he wasn't sure what to do. Chad had never had trouble socialising before. But strangely – right when he had come to the party with high hopes of having an awesome night escaping from reality – Chad was wandering from room to room, struggling to find any particular place where he felt comfortable.

He overheard squealing, chanting and laughing coming from the direction of the dining room, so in a last ditch effort, Chad headed over that way to discover what was going on.

A decision he came to regret a few minutes later.

There was a group of people – not from any particular 'social' circle, just a random assortment – who seemed to have latched onto Paula's theme of 'dumb party games.' A playing card had been produced, the Queen of Hearts to be specific, and what Chad considered to be perhaps the most ridiculous game of all time was in the process of taking place. Suck and Blow. He rolled his eyes, but nevertheless found his eyes drawn toward the game. Two girls from the drama club were positioned next to one another and were finding the entire concept almost impossible. They attempted to pass the card three times, each time exploding into a fit of giggles and allowing the card to drop to the floor. Some of the other game participants were looking on and sharing looks of impatience, rolling their eyes. Others didn't seem to mind.

Such as Taylor and Jerome.

Chad couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the sight of the pair waiting in the circle for the girls to finally pass the card on. He couldn't help but feel slightly possessive at the sight of Jerome leaning forward to whisper something in Taylor's ear. He couldn't help but feel a seething anger as Taylor slapped him on the arm playfully and giggled flirtatiously.

The drama girls finally got the game going again and the card moved around the circle, reaching Kayla, then Xavier, then Sarah, then Jerome…

There was no way on earth that the dropping of the card was real. Every part of it looked staged.

And as Jerome and Taylor's lips met with no card shielding the way; as they didn't pull away immediately, and rather Jerome held her closer and deepened the kiss; Chad couldn't help but feel a seething anger.

He turned away, feeling slightly claustrophobic and rather thirsty. Beer, followed by air, were both required immediately.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Having fun being a fly on the wall at the party so far? If you were at the party, what would you be doing? Since Troy is taken and I would so not be cool enough to warrant his attention, I would be one of the tequila shotting debate team members... Anywho, the party is only just getting started. Hints for next chapter... Troy swaps costumes with someone, take at wager who with. Ryan catches two of the party goers in a compromising position. Several people get extremely drunk and henceforth make questionable decisions. All of this coming next chapter on _Someday..._**


	41. Chapter 40

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies. I also do not have any association or ownership of the various songs that I have included titles of in this chapter.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Wow, I'm so glad that you guys enjoyed the first part of this mofo party. Your feedback was out of this world! Previous author's note re acknowledgements applies again. Also an additional reminder that this fic is M rated aka Z rated and that you read with this fully in mind. Cheers. Enjoy!

**

* * *

****Chapter 40**

Troy had never been a 'dance floor' kind of guy before meeting Gabriella. The dance floor at a school dance had been a mechanism for keeping cheerleader 'girlfriend' of the month happy. However Troy knew that the word _whipped_ was definitely synonymous with his behaviour. The moment one of her favourite songs came on, Gabriella had looked longingly at the dance floor before turning back imploringly to him. And it was Troy who led the charge, leading her by the hand and even shimmying over to the stereo to turn the sound up a few extra notches.

It wasn't exactly a burden, standing close to his incredibly hot girlfriend; being treated to the spectacle of her tipsy, uninhibited self shaking and shimmying on a Saturday night. Troy had attempted to back away and allow himself to observe, however Gabriella had been quick to grab his hand and pull him back into the midst of the dancing. He had slid the pirate sword between his belt and his pants, and he drew it out using it in a mockily sexy way; sliding the plastic edge up her leg and her side, and then down her arm. Gabriella giggled and wrapped her hands around his neck, and leaned up to whisper in his ear.

"I'd prefer that were your hand," she said coyly.

Troy slid the sword back to its resting place, and captured her by the waist. He kissed her softly before inching his hand from its place on her waist, to the small of her back, and then down a little to grab lewdly at her ass.

"Oh yeah?"

"Captain Jack Sparrow! I challenge you to a rematch duel!" Zeke's booming voice came from across the room.

Troy glanced back, seeing his shirtless friend holding up his lightening bolts. "Now?" Troy asked, his annoyance evident.

"Yes _now_. Are you refusing to duel? Admitting defeat? Too chicken? Bawk – bawk –bawk – bawk - bawk?"

"I don't think Zeus would cluck like a chicken," Gabriella remarked. "But then again, Zeus doesn't walk around wearing a pair of black pants and no shirt, he is wearing a toga."

"Is the witch insulting Zeus?" Zeke demanded, attempting to sound Godly and commanding. "Sparrow, what is your response? Do you admit defeat?"

Troy dropped his hand from Gabriella and held his sword up threateningly.

"Captain Jack Sparrow, admit defeat? Never!"

Troy traversed from the dancing half of the lounge room to the hallway where shirtless Zeke was awaiting.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked, striding up to the boys who were facing off.

"Stay out of this, Cowboy," Troy said. "This is between me and Zeus. You can take your fancy pow wow gun elsewhere." He glanced at Zeke's lightening bolts which appeared to once again be intact. "How'd you fix them?"

Zeke turned it around, showing Troy that he had acquired a sturdy stick from the garden and taped it to the back of the bent cardboard. "JC helped. My mother says that nothing is impossible as long as you carry with you a little bit of faith and a roll of electrical tape."

"Dude, that's a line from a movie. The one with the singing nuns."

"Aww man, and here I was thinking my mom was all inspirational and shit. Hang on, how do you know lines from crappy movies about singing nuns?"

Troy bristled, not wanting to admit that he actually really enjoyed the film in question. "Are we duelling or what? You kind of interrupted my evening."

"We're duelling. On guard!"

A crowd began to gather as a rematch began, the competitive Wildcats fighting with the plastic sword and the cardboard covered stick as though it were truly a life or death battle. Kelsi and Jason came rushing back into the house upon hearing the commotion. Jason fought through to the front of the crowd, while Kelsi hung back with Gabriella who was simply watching in amusement.

"I've never had brothers and I've never really hung out with boys a lot. Every so often I just get this vivid reminder of what idiots they can really be," Gabriella remarked.

"COME ON ZEUS! KICK JACK SPARROW'S ASS!" Jason's yell echoed throughout the room.

Kelsi giggled. "I have a little brother so I get the constant reminder."

After a long winded duel which included a run throughout the house and half way up the stairs, eventually it was Zeke who proved victorious, when Troy tripped over onto the floor and Zeke had him pinned and pretended to stab him in the abdomen with the lightening.

"Aha! And Zeus proves that he is the ultimate warrior!" Zeke stood up and held out his hand in good sportsmanship to help Troy up.

"Fine," Troy grumbled. "You win."

The crowd dispersed now that the fight was over and Gabriella stepped toward them. She kissed Troy on the cheek.

"I thought you fought very valiantly. If you like I can retrieve my cauldron and we can turn him into a toad or something," she suggested cheekily.

"I am a God, your silly spells do not work on me, Witch," Zeke scoffed. "As for you Jack Sparrow, as victor, I am claiming possession of your sword."

"But if you take my sword I'm just a guy wearing an eye patch!" Troy protested.

"You can have my lightening bolts," Zeke offered graciously.

"Then I'm just a guy with an eye patch and lightening bolts!" Troy said.

"Then give me your eye patch and your shirt and we can swap costumes," Zeke suggested.

Troy raised his eyebrows.

"I like that idea," Gabriella said with a smile, her eyes dancing at the mental image of her shirtless boyfriend.

"I might get cold," Troy said lamely.

"She'll keep you warm," Zeke said, gesturing toward Gabriella. "Come on man, don't be a pussy boy."

Gabriella stepped in front and began to undo buttons on Troy's shirt. Ryan chose that moment to pass by.

"I never would have picked you to be an exhibitionist Gabriella," he called.

Gabriella smirked and finished removing the shirt, and thrust the item into Zeke's hands. Troy went along with it, handing over the eye patch.

"The sword Troy, the sword is all I care about," Zeke said impatiently.

"As long as I get the lightening bolts," Troy said stubbornly.

"You'll get your fucking lightening bolts."

"Okay then we can swap on the count of three. One… two… three…"

Troy hesitated for a moment with his sword before handing it over and taking the outstretched lightening bolts. Zeke grinned and spun around, his eyes scanning the room for someone he had seen wandering around with a laser sword earlier.

"Woo hoo! Jedi Knight, I challenge you to a duel! Arrr!" Zeke called out.

"Come on, let's dance," Gabriella prompted Troy, a hand running over his back and lingering on his muscular shoulder.

* * *

Troy was more than happy to allow Gabriella to lead him back to their place on the dance floor. Gabriella and Troy started out as just two among the mass of arm waving, hip wiggling, semi drunken party goers who had found their way into the lounge area, where the music was pounding and the alcohol was flowing. When _Please Don't Stop The Music_ began to blast, the couple gravitated back together, dancing tantalisingly near without touching anything other than hands to shoulders, hands to hips, hands to arms. When _Kiss Kiss _came on, the gap was narrowed between them. Hands which had been resting on hips were now caressing asses. Every so often, Troy's subtle roaming hands would graze over her breasts, giving the smallest of squeezes. As the song drew to an end, Gabriella had turned around, her back to his front and arching in time with the rhythm of the music. She turned her head back, lips meeting lips for a series of soft, sensual kisses.

However once the beat and lyrics of _Low_ began to fill the room, there was no denying the specific intent of the movements taking place. There was nothing coy about Troy's hands blatantly and openly cupping and squeezing her breasts. Additionally there was nothing subtle about Gabriella's gyrating hips rhythmically grinding against Troy's straining erection.

"Oh Zeus, is that a lightening bolt in your pocket or are you just glad to see me," Gabriella asked seductively.

"Glad to see you… glad to feel you… glad to taste you," Troy murmured.

He swept her dark waves aside, allowing his lips to lower and suckle on her neck. She gasped into his licks, kisses and nibbles; and tilted her head to provide him with better access, however not desisting from her rhythmic pelvis grind. The pair were in a bubble, oblivious to anything or anyone else. All that mattered was the beat of the music coursing through them as they engaged in a vertical dance of blatant foreplay. Gabriella turned around and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, lips crashing together in a desperate, duelling kiss. It was a duel far more satisfactory than any childish swordfight.

When the unedited version of _My Neck, My Back_ came over the speakers and Gabriella's eyes glazed over, Troy had had enough of the dance of flirtation. He backed her up into the corner and in a sweeping movement, he picked her up, his hands coercing her legs to wrap around him. Pressing her up against the wall, Troy's lips began to assault Gabriella, his hips thrusting against her. She moaned into his zealous kiss and tightened the grip of her legs around his waist, pulling him closer. Finally Troy pulled away, and spoke in a low, intent tone.

"We are going upstairs now. If you have any objection, now would be the time to tell me."

"No objection," Gabriella responded breathily.

He gently allowed her legs to unwrap from around him and set her down on the ground. Troy led her by the hand out of the dance room, traversing through the mass of gyrating, grinding bodies. When they reached the slightly fresher air of the hallway, Gabriella grabbed Troy, now being the one to push him against the wall and initiate a steamy kiss.

"Get a room!" an unidentified individual called out.

"Just in the process of doing so!" Troy called back.

Gabriella giggled, but looked somewhat mortified.

"Come on," she murmured.

She took Troy by the hand and led him up the stairs. When they reached the top of the staircase, she stumbled a little in the stiletto boots, however Troy was quick enough to steady her and use the opportunity to pull her back in for another kiss. They stumbled down the hallway, passing what Troy knew to be Paula's parents room; attempting to open the door to a spare bedroom but being met by a locked door and a yelped, "Fuck off!" from inside. They passed Paula's room and then hit the jackpot with the second spare bedroom.

Troy flung the door open, Gabriella's lips not leaving his as he slammed the door behind him. Troy practically growled as he pushed Gabriella to the bed, falling on top of her. He reached over in the midst of the desperate kiss to flick on the touch lamp on the bedside table to provide at least a little light.

"Do you have some attachment to these boots or do you mind if I get rid of the damn things right now," Gabriella gasped.

"Are Gabriella's poor tootsies hurting?" Troy teased, a hand squeezing her breast.

"That, and also I'm afraid I may inflict injury to one or both of us with these stiletto heels," she responded.

Troy snorted and pulled back. He shimmied down and unzipped the left boot before pulling it off her foot, and then unzipped the right to remove it. The offending items were tossed aside.

"Do you know what it really great about tonight?" Troy murmured.

"What?" Gabriella asked.

Troy glanced at his watch. "We don't have to leave here to go anywhere for almost ten hours. We could have a lot of orgasms in ten hours."

Gabriella burst into giggles. "That we could."

Troy softened. "And also… we don't have to rush. Normally by now, at the very minimum I'd be seeing your bra. It's kinda nice being able to just take it slow."

"You really are a hopeless romantic, aren't you?" Gabriella said.

Troy lifted Gabriella's fishnet stocking covered leg, and proceeded to plant kisses on her foot and then her ankle, eliciting a giggle. He bent her leg up as he kissed along the side of her calf and then paused to swirl his tongue at the back of her knee before continuing up her inner thigh before gently placing her leg back on the bed.

"Chad would argue that I am a lesbian trapped in the body of a basketball playing man," Troy said as he lingered just over her crotch, skipping the area entirely and placing his lips back to meet her skin at the swell of her breast.

"Fine by me," Gabriella gasped, as Troy's hands tugged the front of her dress down and pried at the right cup of her silky bra, folding it down and exposing her nipple.

A sudden _thud_ from just outside the room caused Gabriella to pull away.

"Is the door locked?" she gasped.

"There is no lock on the door," he responded, before continuing to nuzzle his lips into the swell of her breast.

"Can we… oh shit… block it somehow?" Gabriella moaned, feeling Troy's tongue flick against her nipple.

Troy held back from letting out a slight groan; although he knew that if they were walked in on in the middle of the later stages of fooling around, he would have regretted not having the foresight. He tore himself away and leapt off the bed, examining the door situation in a flurry. His penis was straining against his boxer briefs and dress pants, and the time being spent in reconnaissance was only adding to the tension.

"We could tie a ribbon to the door handle, isn't that like code to not come in?" Gabriella suggested somewhat desperately.

"Babe, when we just came in here like five minutes ago, were you paying any attention to what may or may not have been on the door handle?"

Gabriella paused. "Not in the slightest."

Troy's eyes fell upon the free standing wardrobe and before he knew it, he was behind it and shoving it across the plush carpet. It was made of a heavy duty wood and from the weight of it Troy suspected that the Hoffman family had a lot of crap stored in the thing. But like a desperate mother lifting a car to rescue a trapped infant, Troy was so desperate to fulfil Gabriella's need for a truly private sanctuary that he summoned an almost super human strength within. Troy stood back, admiring his handiwork for a split second before shifting his focus to a far more worthy entity. Gabriella had swept the comforter cover back, and was propped up against the pillows, with her slender fishnet clad legs out and crossed in front of her. Her ebony curls cascaded down her shoulders and over the swell of her breast which Troy had been so intently fixed upon just minutes earlier – and now had the urge to once again return his attention to.

He stalked over to the bed, eyes staring intently at Gabriella. She was watching him with a coy expression, awaiting his next move. His knees sank to the foot of the bed, and he hovered over Gabriella, crawling over her cat style.

"What's with this?" he murmured, gesturing to where she had pushed the comforter back.

"Umm… changing sheets might be easier than having to change a comforter cover," Gabriella suggested.

"I can't believe you're contemplating the clean up already," Troy remarked. His hands fell upon Gabriella's abdomen and danced up her dress, repositioning themselves upon her breasts. Once again his fingers toyed with the material, pulling it down that little bit further. His lips sank into the flesh of the swell of her breast.

Gabriella moaned. "That's… ohh… me. Ever thoughtful about… mmm… everyone."

* * *

Chad was pacing backwards and forwards in the Hoffman family kitchen. A walk outside and a can of beer hadn't quite been enough to settle his anger. He obtained a clean cup and the bottle of tequila which was sitting on the bench, and quickly poured out a double shot. He didn't even hesitate, he simply tossed the liquid back and swallowed in one easy gulp. He slammed the cup down and poured out another shot.

"-with orange juice?" a female voice called out as she entered the kitchen.

Chad looked up to see the back of Taylor as she was half in the kitchen, half poking her head out talking to someone outside. She turned around to see him staring awkwardly at her.

"Um… Hi," Taylor said. "Having a good night?"

Chad picked up the cup and slammed the shot down. "Yeah, okay."

"It's good tequila, isn't it? Jerome brought it for everyone."

"Well, Jerome seems to be providing all sorts of services tonight," Chad said, his tone dripping with bitterness.

Taylor's mouth dropped open. "What… what… what was that meant to mean?"

"Don't play dumb. You might be drunk but you're not stupid. I saw you and him before, in the dining room."

"We were playing a game!" Taylor exclaimed defensively.

"Suck and blow isn't that difficult. And even if you do drop the damn card and knock lips, it's for like a second. Not 10 seconds. And not with spit swapping."

"It was still a game!" Taylor exclaimed. "It didn't _mean _anything."

"Why are you sounding all defensive? We broke up Taylor. You can go fool around with whoever you like. Go fuck the guy upstairs for all I care."

Taylor's mouth dropped open, literally feeling as though she'd been slapped. "You don't… you don't mean that."

Chad swallowed. "You're right. I don't mean it. But don't stand there and act like it was just a game because if it was just a game, you wouldn't have kept kissing for that long."

"Gee Chad, if you're not careful, someone might think that you actually care!"

"Of course I fucking care!" Chad shouted. "How dare you suggest that I don't care! _You_ dumped _me_! Do you _remember_ that?"

"And how dare you act like the fact that I ended it has anything to do with anything!" Taylor shouted, her bottom lip trembling. "You didn't even _fight_ with me about it! You'll fight about what movie we're going to see, whose watch is set to the accurate time, and even the Goddamn fucking Lakers!" she broke, the tears which had been welling in her eyes beginning to fall. "But when it came to something important, when it came to us – you just couldn't be fucked! I said we should break up and you just said okay. We weren't worth fighting about, fighting for!" Taylor took a deep breath, sniffling back the tears. "So don't you dare stand there and patronise me and act like you are jealous or that you still care."

"Umm… guys…"

Chad and Taylor looked up to see an onlooking crowd, wanting to see what the commotion was about. Ryan, Kelsi and Jason - among others – were now all at the doorway to the kitchen.

"Fuck this. Fuck you. I don't have to listen to this fucking bull shit," Chad snapped. He grabbed his can of beer and stormed out of the kitchen, physically pushing Jason out of the way to get past.

Taylor's eyes were firmly closed, her fists clenched shut. She took a deep breath, and counted to five. She opened her eyes.

"Show's over. Run along," she said quietly.

* * *

At the beginning of the night, Zeke had felt incredibly torn. A few drinks into his system, the arrival of his ex-girlfriend had stirred all sorts of feelings within. Some of them in his brain, some in his heart – most of them within his penis. He didn't want to make a rash, alcohol inflicted decision about the relationship so he had distracted himself with sword fighting, party games and other random shenanigans. As the night went on, he found himself continuing with the distraction technique. However it continued with a different guise to maintain – and it was short lived. He gave up trying to pretend.

Zeke Baylor, Wildcat, dessert chef – and protector of vulnerable, drunk, blonde musical theatre stars.

There wasn't anything unusual about people get drunk at a party. The debate team seemed to be on a group mission to get themselves completely wasted. The Wildcat junior basketballers were conducting highly professional chugging contests, and had consumed copious amounts of beer in the process. Often there was no deeper emotional reason behind the consumption other than the cave person mentality of "me like beer, me get drunk."

However there was no questioning the forlorn look of anxiety in Sharpay's eyes as she had desperately grasped the cup from Zeke. He had tried to quash the memory. After all, she had blown him off when he had made an attempt to question her motives. However when he entered the kitchen and found Sharpay by the punch bowl again – not even attempting to enjoy the beverage, simply desperately swallowing it with her eyes clenched shut – something deep inside pulled at him, insisting that she needed someone to look out for her. And so Zeke had found himself playing the role of protector from a distance.

He had subtly tracked her path, watching as she observed the dancing from afar; as she watched Round 78 of the Chug-Off on the deck; as she viewed the party games that were taking place in the dining room. Between each of her stops, she would inevitably return to the kitchen to retrieve more alcohol.

He was more than a little concerned when she made a mad dash for the bathroom, and even cut the queue. He remained hanging around outside until she emerged a few minutes later. She seemed okay as she exited, and Zeke breathed a sign of relief. Right as he thought Sharpay was about to walk straight past him, she spun around and grabbed him by his shirt.

"Zekey baby, you can stop stalking me," Sharpay said bluntly, her sentence punctuated with a slightly drunken sway back and forth.

"I just saw you rush to the bathroom," he stammered. "I was worried about you."

"I had to pee, if that's okay with you. Alcohol is a bitch like that, huh? But I know that's bullshit. You've been stalking me all night when you weren't sword fighting and acquiring more clothing. Now either come talk to me, or fuck off." Sharpay's usual candour was amplified by the tongue loosening alcohol.

She was headed straight back towards the kitchen. Zeke bit his lip.

"Umm… Sharpay… I think you should take it easy. Have a glass of water. Have you eaten anything?" Zeke suggested meekly.

"No."

"Well that is about to change."

He turned his back, collecting a cup of water and began to pile food onto a plate. He turned around to see her at the punch bowl.

"Uh-uh," he reprimanded, and took the cup from her hand. "Let's go outside."

"Zeke?" Sharpay ventured. "Could you help me find my coat? I don't know where I left it."

"The gold one, right? It's on the coat stand by the door. Now, do you think you can carry this?"

He handed her the cup, and carried the plate of food himself. They swung back to the front door to retrieve Sharpay's coat before Zeke led her outside, pulling a couple of deck chairs together.

"Eat some of this," Zeke said, motioning to the plate.

Sharpay took a cookie from the plate, and examined it. "Did you bake these?"

"Yes."

She nodded curtly and took a large bite from it. Zeke could tell that she was attempting to appear as though she was under control. However the slight sway as she sat was evidence alone of just how much she was affected.

"Stop looking at me like that!" Sharpay said, grabbing another two cookies from the pile.

"Like what?"

"All... pityingly. Coz I'm fine. Having a good time, you know."

"You look kinda miserable to me. What's fun about drinking and wandering around and not actually talking to anyone?" Zeke pointed out.

"Told you that you were stalking me." Sharpay relented. "You know, you're just about the only person who has talked to me all night?"

"Maybe if you made the effort to talk to people first…"

"I don't care about any of these morons," Sharpay said candidly. She picked up her fifth cookie and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Then why did you come?" Zeke asked.

"Doesn't matter why I came. I was stupid. I've been stupid for months. I'm just a stupid girl who does stupid things. Like wear stupid costumes and brunette wigs because brunettes are more appealing to some people. But it doesn't matter does it, I could dye my hair brown and learn how to do calculus and giggle like an idiot and it wouldn't matter."

The semi drunken Sharpay let rip with her stream of conscious, not even thinking about what she was saying or who she was talking to.

Zeke cleared his throat. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

"As if you do," Sharpay scoffed. "You're the big basketball guy with cheerleaders fawning over you. Liana is sitting over there giving me dirty looks because I'm talking to you."

Zeke scoffed. "Yeah. And I'm also the guy who gets his heart fucked over."

In a moment of drunken realisation, it was as though Sharpay realised that it was Zeke she was talking to. Zeke, who had fawned over her for nine months. Zeke, who finally moved on only to have his girlfriend cheat on him. She shuffled her chair closer to his, now side by side. She took another cookie from the pile and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully.

"Do you know how much easier my life would have been if I liked you?" Sharpay said, staring at the remainder of the cookie. "I mean… you make these incredible cookies which right now, I feel like I could eat this whole batch at once. You're perfectly nice." Sharpay's hand fell upon Zeke's thigh. Zeke swallowed. Sharpay was staring at where her hand was placed on Zeke's arm, her eyes then trailed up his chest and she gazed into his eyes. "You're attractive."

Zeke's breath hitched as he felt Sharpay's grip upon his arm tighten slightly. In that single moment, nothing else mattered. He knew that she was drunk. And he knew that she didn't like him in that way. And he knew that she liked one of his best friends. But in that single moment in time, he couldn't care less about any of it. Because despite all of it, they were there, they were together, he was looking into her eyes, she was looking into his eyes and that was all that mattered.

Zeke's hand lightly fell onto Sharpay's cheek, his thumb caressing her chin. Sharpay's eyes fluttered closed as she slowly leaned forward.

"Hey guys what's… woah! What the!"

Sharpay and Zeke pulled back and stared up at a more than a little bit shocked Ryan Evans standing just feet away. His eyes were wide open, and he shook his head quickly in disbelief.

"Umm… I'm sorry… I'm gonna just… umm… I'll go away now," Ryan stammered awkwardly.

Zeke cleared his throat. "It's fine man. I um… I have to go and… umm… I have to go talk to someone anyway."

And with that, he abruptly pushed his chair back and bolted into the house, leaving the inebriated Sharpay staring into the distance, with Ryan still staring at his sister in disbelief.

* * *

Gabriella and Troy were embroiled in a desperate, horizontal kissing battle. Despite his remark about having multitudes of available time available, after blocking the door, Troy had been struck by a desperate need to see and feel a whole lot more of her skin. He had been quick to remove Gabriella's dress and then the stockings. In the midst of a probing kiss, Gabriella nudged Troy to roll over, straddling him in her underwear as her hands roamed over his chest. She shimmied down slightly.

"This is so convenient you already being shirtless," Gabriella murmured.

Her kisses deviated south a little, trailing licks and suckles down his neck along the way to flick her tongue at his left nipple. Meanwhile, her hands were now concentrating upon undoing his belt and pulling down his black pants.

Between the two of them, all that now remained was black boxer briefs, a black satin bra and a black satin thong.

"We match," Troy murmured, gazing up at Gabriella.

His hands ran up her sides, and up the back of her shoulder before resting at the top of her bra strap. He lifted his upper body from the chest, his lips meeting the place where his right hand was now slowly pushing down Gabriella's bra strap, softly kissing the now exposed skin. Gabriella shivered at his touch, her hands clutched onto his upper arms as he reached around her back to deftly unhook her bra and discard it onto the floor. She allowed Troy to flip their positions, turning her to be lying on her back before straddling her and leaning down to concentrate his attention to her now bare breast. Unimpeded, his hands now kneaded and toyed with Gabriella's breasts, his tongue and lips concentrating upon her nipple. Amidst whimpers and ragged breathing, Gabriella managed to clasp onto the waist band of his boxer briefs and wriggle them down, Troy's burgeoning erection springing free. He didn't desist from his tongue lashing of her breasts, but took a moment to assist in removing his underwear before returning his hands to their rightful place cupping her breasts.

Gabriella's hands fell to the nape of Troy's neck, subliminally signalling him to discontinue. As insatiable it felt having the attention upon her breasts, she felt a desperate need for his lips to be upon hers. And Troy was more than willing to comply. Soft kisses were cast aside in favour of desperate, probing, passion embroiled kisses. Gabriella's left hand was snaked around Troy's back, clutching over his shoulder blade. Her right hand had snaked down, her index finger followed the path of his snail trail, tantalisingly drew a line along his member before clasping her hand around the head and stroking at an excruciatingly slow rate.

Troy shifted his weight slightly, and in the process of doing so he lurched down and north slightly – his erect length sliding along the slick material of Gabriella's satin thong. His deer in headlights expression met Gabriella's, and in the process of half arousal half fear of freaking her out, he missed the slight moan which escaped from her mouth due to the sensation. He was about to murmur an apology and insist that he wasn't trying to do what it may have appeared that he was trying to do, but he was silenced by an imploring look of reassurance and encouragement, and then a pair of hungry lips meeting his.

Relatively certain that her look had been one of encouragement, Troy imitated the movement again, thrusting himself against her experimentally. Again he felt himself hardening further in response to the sensation, the slight girl beneath him whimpering into his kiss and running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. It became a rhythm, a desperate emulation of the downstairs grinding, thrusting himself against her. In his brain he knew exactly what act he was imitating. If the look of lust in his girlfriend's eyes wasn't enough to confirm her approval; her own thrusting hips ensuring his length met her in just the right spot were additional evidence of her content.

Any other person in the room might have felt the bass music reverberating against the floor; heard the laughter and chatter from downstairs; been startled by the occasional random _woo-hoo_ outcry or the initiation of a peer pressure themed insistent chant for someone to _chug, chug, chug_ or _lick it up! _

However the guest bedroom with the dresser in front of the door was now within its own bubble, a safe sanctuary of solitude. All that could be heard was the whimpers and gasps and groans escaping from the lips of the lovers; sheets rustling; and the distinguishing sound of kissing.

Only Gabriella's slick satin panties and some semblance of control from Troy were separating them. As he slid his length over her, he could feel her opening, he could feel precisely where it was that he knew he belonged. On each upward motion, he pushed against her clit, her moans increasingly frantic.

"Troy," Gabriella gasped.

Troy lifted his head from the swell of her breast, and gazed into her eyes. "Hmm?"

"I think I'm ready," she whispered.

Troy froze, desisting from the movement. "You think you're ready… does that mean what I think it means?"

Gabriella took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes it does. I think… I think I want us to… to have sex."

* * *

"Sharpay… what was that?" Ryan asked quietly, sliding into the seat which Zeke had been occupying moments earlier.

"Well… I think I _might_ have made out with Zeke if you hadn't come and interrupted us," Sharpay slurred.

"Well it's a damn fucking good thing I did interrupt you!" Ryan exclaimed. "Shar… go make out with just about anyone you want. But not a guy who has spent the last few months trying to get over you!"

"Ryan?"

"What?"

"I don't feel good," Sharpay whimpered.

"How much have you drank?" Ryan demanded.

"Don't be a hypo… hypo… you've been drinking too."

"Yeah but you hardly ever drink, and I'm not the one saying that I feel nauseous."

Ryan let out an exasperated sigh. Sharpay had this ability to make him feel so incredibly frustrated with her – and yet at the same time, all he wanted to do was do the brotherly thing and look after her.

"Let's go in and get you another cup of water," Ryan suggested.

"Zeke already gave me water. Zeke is so nice. And attractive. And he bakes. And you interrupted us."

"I stopped you from making a mistake is what I did," Ryan said. "Do you feel really sick or just a little sick?"

"I don't know but the room is spinning a little," Sharpay said, punctuating the sentence with a giggle, swaying backwards and forwards.

Ryan closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath in and then exhaled. "Okay. Definitely need water. And then some more water after that."

* * *

Taylor liked to put on a front of being fine. She had spent the whole week since breaking up with Chad playing the guise that she was just too busy with life to have an emotional response. Half of it was a guise to the public. The other half was a guise to herself. Girls and alcohol and emotions can be dangerous. Having a few drinks whilst in a good mood can send you to a place of joy and fun unimaginable. But having a few drinks and then being placed into an emotionally vulnerable situation can make the situation seem far direr than it actually is.

And so now, Taylor was in a state of emotional vulnerability – and with no one to turn to. She had blown off Kelsi's attempt to talk. She'd been storming around in search of Gabriella only to be informed by someone that Gabriella and Troy had disappeared upstairs. Taylor wasn't surprised and she couldn't begrudge her friend for getting tipsy and fooling around with her boyfriend at a party. But she couldn't help but lament upon how inconvenient it was that right when she was in desperate need to vent, that Gabriella wasn't available. A few hours earlier when Gabriella had been prodding her to vent, she'd been there. _Now_ she chose to go and get naked. Martha was her next choice of a sympathetic ear, however she found Martha in the lounge area dancing and she didn't want to make the big melodramatic scene of dragging her friend away for a deep and meaningful.

"Looking for someone?" a voice said in her ear.

Taylor spun around to see Jerome looking at her questioningly.

"Umm… kinda… I don't know who though," Taylor said quietly. "Well, Gabriella would be ideal but she is currently indisposed."

"Yeah I went to use the bathroom upstairs before. There were some peculiar noises from the bedroom down the end of the hallway. Steer clear is my recommendation."

Taylor nodded. "Duly noted. Anyway, if you'll excuse me…"

"You looking for someone to talk to about the argument you had with Chad?" Jerome asked, raising his eyebrows.

Taylor nodded sheepishly. "You heard about that, huh?"

"I caught the tail end even. I think half the party who aren't currently grinding clothed in the lounge or unclothed upstairs heard it."

"Right. Well. I might go and…"

"I know we've only really started getting to know each other this year, but it might surprise you to hear that I'm actually a pretty good listener."

"Umm… Jerome… I know you said you only caught the tail end of the argument, but do you realise that the whole thing started because Chad walked in on the suck and blow game earlier?"

Jermone shrugged. "Well, I didn't hear the specific mention of me but I do have a 4.0 GPA and I am capable of analytical and deductive reasoning. And really, so what? Who cares if it was about me? Doesn't change that I can listen to you vent."

Taylor swallowed and nodded. She was actually relieved. "Okay. Yes. If you don't mind listening to my tipsy incoherent ramblings."

Jerome smiled. "Not at all. Let's go outside."

They each grabbed a fresh cup of punch before heading out onto the deck. Taylor gestured to the now unoccupied swing chair in the corner of the yard. "Shall we?"

"Sure."

Once reaching the corner, Taylor collapsed into the chair and Jerome sat next to her.

"Chad is… he's… he's… an egregiously selfish pig!" Taylor declared.

"Only you would use a word like egregious while you're drunk," Jerome remarked.

"Aren't you drunk?"

"Nah, I stopped drinking a while back. My older brother is coming to pick me up in about a half hour and I didn't want to arrive back at home completely trashed."

"Why did you kiss me? Chad was right in saying that it really shouldn't have happened if… if there wasn't something… I mean I didn't exactly stop you but it was you that started it."

Jerome sighed. "I don't know Taylor. We'd had a few shots, I was at my tipsiest point… it felt right. I was feeling a bit crazy. After I did it was when I stopped drinking. I…" Jerome paused. "You're totally hung up on Chad. I get that. But I'd be lying if I told you that I hadn't thought about the fact that if you were baggage free then I'd like to ask you out. I guess… I guess that's why I did it."

Taylor was silent for a moment. "You're the kind of person I _should_ be interested in. But…"

"You're hung up on Chad?"

She nodded. "I didn't break up with him because I don't care about him. I broke up with him because I care about him and I felt like it wasn't being reciprocated."

"Then you need to talk to him about it. Find out if it really did change with him. Because you've broken up with him but all this is gonna stay hanging over you, you know? You either need to have broken up with him and made a clean break… or you go back and work on it."

Taylor exhaled. "Why does this have to be so difficult? It shouldn't be this hard, should it, if it was really meant to be?"

Jerome shrugged. "Not a clue. I've only had one girlfriend and that ended in dreadful awkwardness."

* * *

Gabriella gazed into Troy's eyes, her chest heaving as she struggled to regain control of her ragged breathing – somewhat caused by arousal, but more so by adrenaline as a result of what she had just said.

"Wha… what?" Troy stammered.

"I said… I said that I think I want us to have sex," Gabriella repeated, her trembling hands running over the warmth of his abs.

"Well, I know that I want us to have sex and we will, at some point, and…"

"You don't understand. Now Troy. I mean now."

Troy was taken aback. Her tone was completely serious. Troy had imagined this moment so many times, he had thought about the moment when Gabriella would convey to him that she was ready. There was just something about the moment as it transpired that didn't sit right.

Troy swallowed, and shifted his weight over so that he was lying next to her on his side, propped up with his head resting against his hand. "Babe… you **think** isn't good enough."

"You might be waiting for a while then, because I don't think that girls ever feel totally, completely ready. And right now I'm about as ready as I'm ever going to be."

"Gabriella, right now you've had a few drinks and we've kinda been rubbing and grinding all night. I need you to feel ready when you're not drunk and horny."

"I'm not drunk. Tipsy yes. Drunk, no."

Troy smirked, noting that she didn't deny being horny.

"Why are you saying no to this? I'm having flashbacks to the last time you said no and if you really believe that things haven't changed since then, well, you have missed some major developments between us," Gabriella pointed out.

"Babe, if we'd gotten together on Thursday afternoon and been fooling around, would you have been telling me then that you're ready?"

Gabriella paused. "No," she admitted. "But… but…. I would have been thinking that maybe I am ready. Which… we kinda talked about on Thursday night, that I'm nearly ready. Well, I think that has changed since then."

If she had interrupted intense fooling around to have a serious conversation any other day, Troy might have been a little peeved about the situation. However given the nature of the topic, there was no way of avoiding it in that moment. Troy took a breath, and shifted on the bed, attempting to reposition himself so that his straining erection wasn't quite as uncomfortable.

"Again, you're using uncertain words here. Think. Maybe. This suggests that something would have been holding you back. What? Talk me through it."

"I'm scared."

"Scared?"

Gabriella nodded. "I'm scared because… because I know it'll hurt. I'm scared that… that things will change with us. Things are just so… they're perfect now. What if it gets weird? What if I'm… I'm not very uh… not very…. Good… and things get all fucked up? What if…"

Troy's index finger gently touched her lips, silencing her. "We've already talked about how useless the what if game is. I can tell you what I do know. You've watched the movies, done the sex ed course, surely you've talked to some other girls about it. I've seen Cosmo in your room. The fact is that for you, it probably will be crap the first time. It will hurt. And neither of us will know what we're doing. And I'm a seventeen year old male and I probably won't last long. Which will magnify the fact that it's crap."

"Umm… Okay you're taking away the feeling of being ready right now and I'm failing to see the reason to do it here," Gabriella said dubiously.

"I want to be with you not because sex is apparently this amazing, pleasurable experience. Although, that serves as a perk. I want to be with you because I am so hopelessly in love with you and… and although I would never say this to anyone other than you… sex is about expressing that love. The ultimate feeling of connection and all of that bullshit that they spin to make you wait until you're in love instead of doing it randomly with anybody with compatible genitals. I believe all the bullshit and I know you do too."

"I know all of that. And, in terms of everything you just said… I'm completely ready, one hundred percent on board ready, tear my clothes off right now ready." There was not a drop of doubt within Gabriella's tone as she spoke those words.

"I think that as long as we keep talking to each other about it before it happens – whenever that might be – and while it's happening and after it happens… if we agree right here and now that we continue to be open and honest like we have been about everything we've been doing… then I really believe that we will be fine. I believe that I'll love you even more after it happens. Although it feels impossible to love anyone more than I love you already."

For the seventeen year old male, exposing emotion so blatantly, so openly – it isn't easy. It doesn't come naturally. As he spoke, he was naked – both literally, and also emotionally. There was nothing held back, no mask, no shield at all. Gazing at her boyfriend as he spoke so candidly, Gabriella could hear vulnerability within his tone; but she could also see the sincerity within his eyes. She leaned forward, lips meeting in a soft, sensual kiss.

"I love you," Gabriella said softly, her forehead resting against his. "And when you say stuff like that… it kinda makes all the thinks and the maybes float away."

"As much as this guy down here wants me to grab you and convince you that they should go away," Troy said, motioning to his semi. "I'm not going to."

Gabriella glanced down, for the first time truly registering the state he had been in throughout the conversation. "Oh God. I totally ruined the moment here, didn't I?"

"Ssshh. The moment is always there with us," Troy said charmingly, but also truthfully. His nose nuzzled against hers as he spoke.

"What if I said that everything that you just said really did clarify things… and that I am ready?" Gabriella asked, biting her bottom lip.

"It's not happening tonight. Even if you were totally ready, we're not doing it here like this. We've waited too freaking long to do it tipsy at a party where if I strain my ears I can hear people having sex down the corridor."

Gabriella closed her eyes, laughing slightly. "I love you."

"I love you more."

"It's going to be soon Troy. I can feel it," she whispered. "I can't label it, I can't say, it'll be next Tuesday or… or whatever. But… I think given the right situation, when we're in the right place and the timing is there… I'll just know. _We_ will know. It'll just… make sense."

* * *

Chad was mind numbingly drunk. He had pilfered the remainder of the tequila bottle and taken successive shots, before joining in with the available members of the basketball team – i.e. the newbies – and proceeded to run amuck. The party was gradually dying down, it was still going but there were more people inside and sitting around in random drunken conversations than out running around. Chad collapsed into a deck chair, staring out at nothing in particular. The room had been spinning somewhat, and he was attempting to sit at still as possible.

"Hey there," the voice of a very familiar female purred.

"Hey sexy," Chad said with a grin, glancing up to see Kayla gliding over to him.

"You look very deep in thought for someone who is totally trashed."

"You're trashed too. I just watched you stumble a little."

"Not as trashed as you. I'm wearing high heels, stumbling is a given after a few drinks."

She collapsed into the chair beside him. "Heard about your fight with Taylor earlier."

Chad snorted. "Bet you were happy to hear about that."

"I wasn't upset. It just so happens that I don't think she's right for you."

"I don't have a fucking clue what is right for me anymore. I'm sick of thinking about it. Too complicated."

"Don't you miss the good old days when it simple? When you just thought someone was hot and so you would hang out and hook up and that was it?"

Chad grinned. "Yeah. The good old days. Makes us sound so much older than we are. When were those good old days, like, a year ago?"

"A lot changes in a year."

"You're telling me."

Kayla sat up, and leaned forward. Chad wasn't oblivious to the move, it was her signature move. Lean over, let the cleavage do the talking. And in his current state, Chad was more than able to appreciate it, and was less than capable of hiding his not so subtle stare. Kayla smiled, observing his stare. Her hand fell upon his knee.

"But… it doesn't need to always be so complicated. Sometimes, it can just be about a girl and a boy and thinking they're hot and hooking up. Can't it?"

"Very subtle, Kayla. Cut the speech. Why don't you just put your hand on my dick and ask if I wanna fool around with you?"

Kayla smirked, her hand rising up his thigh, her fingers then grazing against his crotch.

"Wanna fool around?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

* * *

It never ceased to amaze Zeke how if you weren't in the mood, you could drink and you could drink and you could drink and you just wouldn't feel any pep. The formula was there. He was in the lounge area with the music pumping. People were dancing. He'd consumed more than enough. But the slight buzz he had been feeling had totally drifted away, and it didn't matter how much more he consumed, he was still feeling mellow. And so here he was, chilling on the couch, just watching everyone else party and have fun. He wouldn't have minded crashing except that the bedrooms were taken and there wasn't a single place in the downstairs area that would be quiet enough for a person to sleep, unless they were passed out drunk.

"This seat taken?"

Zeke glanced up to see Monica.

"Be my guest," he said, gesturing for her to sit. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the din of the music.

She sat down next to him on the couch, and slipped off her heels to put her feet up on the coffee table in front of them.

"You look upset," she said by his ear.

Zeke shrugged. "I just wish I could go back before everything got all complicated."

She ran her finger up his chin, before resting her palm on his cheek. "Who says you can't go back?"

"If only it were that simple. Snap of the fingers, life back to normal."

"What about right now though? Couldn't you just make things feel normal in this moment, and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow?"

* * *

Gabriella was propped up slightly by the pillows behind her. Even after the 'moment killing' conversation, Troy had been right, with 'the moment' easily recreated itself almost as soon as a series of soft kisses began to take place. The thrusting and grinding was re-emulated, tipping Gabriella over the edge with her first orgasm of the evening. Troy had then stripped her free of the confines of her underwear. Lips swollen, sensitive and tingling from the force of their kisses wasn't enough to thwart either of them from clinging to the other and kissing furiously. Gabriella's hand was firmly and adroitly clasped around Troy's length, pumping steadily. Troy's fingers were lightly dancing within Gabriella's slippery folds, exploring languorously, toying with her opening gently.

In a flashback of her revelation the previous weekend of the potential role of lubricant, Gabriella had a sudden brainwave that only a Gabriella having consumed a series of alcoholic beverages in the lead up to proceedings would actually initiate. She broke away from their kisses momentarily and removed her hand from his length. Troy watched curiously as she brushed his teasing hand aside and entered her index and middle fingers into her own depths, pumping backwards and forwards several times. She then removed her hand, her now glistening digits returning to slide freely up and down Troy's length. He groaned, aroused beyond belief not only by the act itself but also from the added sensation of a lubricating substance.

"Fuck, you're so incredibly hot," Troy murmured throatily by her ear.

His nimble fingers desisted from their casual toying, instead plunging into her depths with both precision and purpose. His lips once again left hers, performing their familiar dance down her neck, stopping at her breasts briefly before he drew back, crouching at the end of the bed. Gabriella began to sit up, to allow her hand to continue to be within grasp of his length.

"Lie back," Troy cooed.

"You don't wanna… try it with both at once again?" Gabriella suggested.

"Not right now… right now it's all about you, baby doll," Troy murmured, and gently guided her with his left hand to lie back down, whilst his right index and middle fingers curled inside of her.

"Baby doll? That's… that's new," Gabriella gasped.

"Can I pull that one off?" Troy murmured as his tongue swirled around her belly button.

"When your mouth is hovering where it is right now, I think you could call me whatever you liked and I'd have no objection."

Her hands were restless, she felt incapable of just lying and doing nothing. However after the last couple of times when it had been in this position leading to hair pulling, she was wary of placing her hands on his head. Troy sensed this restlessness, and covered her hands with his and placed them on her stomach, and then ran them up her abdomen and then stopped when they were on her breasts.

"Try that," he suggested coyly.

"You're such a boy," Gabriella gasped, however she was more than content to go along with the suggestion.

"Umm… thank you? And more importantly, it's a legitimate tool. I have two hands and one mouth; meanwhile you girls have these multitudes of erogenous zones and I can only do so much at once. So by helping me, you're really helping yourself."

His finger was now flicking at her clit leisurely, Gabriella's hands squeezing roughly at her breasts. "Uh huh," she said in agreement.

Now content that she would allow him to perform without hindrance, Troy returned his complete attention to the task at hand. Fingers and lips worked in unison to bring Gabriella to a place of writhing, panting, moaning ecstasy. Digits nimbly thrusted within, whilst his tongue worked playfully, teasing around and near before finally placing emphasis upon the most imperative of the female erogenous zones. Troy seemed to be taking the concept of having 'all the time in the world' far too seriously for Gabriella's liking. He was following a pattern. Three times he had found her clit, sucking and flicking his tongue as he simultaneously thrust within; three times he had found her clit and brought her just shy of her peak. Three times, he had found her clit and then desisted, pulling back from the tongue flicking, moving instead to tease around. It was after the third time when he removed his lips altogether, and almost completely stilled the movement of his fingers when Gabriella moaned in aggravation.

"Troy… I get… that you want to take your time given that we have all this time at our disposal. It does occur to you that we could just do it more than once to fill the hours?" she demanded desperately.

"But torturing you is just sooo much fun," Troy murmured, as he suckled on her inner thigh, before once again beginning the hike to the peak of the mountain.

Glancing up, Troy was in complete awe of the way Gabriella had taken his suggestion as to what she could be doing with her hands within her stride. She wasn't just squeezing or caressing lightly; she was kneading, toying with her nipples, changing rhythms in accordance with her verbal reaction to his movements. Between the sounds of her panting and writhing and pleading; the sight of her hands toying mercilessly with her breasts; and the sweet smell of her womanly essence, Troy had a personalised porn show. He simply couldn't resist, now performing the ultimate of multi tasking jobs; his lips, tongue and left hand teasing her; and his right hand having stolen her juices and now utilising them as he leisurely stroked himself.

"Holy… oh… oh my God…" Gabriella panted, feeling the swell of the impending orgasm rising once again.

Troy couldn't resist, slowing the pumping of his fingers, eliciting a drawn out moan of frustration.

"Please… no…" she begged between ragged breaths, sensing the change in Troy's rhythm and suspecting his intent to pull away.

Gabriella opened her eyes, and for the first time, she realised the act of self pleasure he was undertaking. She drew in a sharp breath, her toying fingers clasping at her nipples so tight that she felt a twang of pain. However it was a pain which translated into pleasure. Troy's eyes flickered back up, their gaze meeting. It was that moment when Gabriella realised that finally, he wasn't planning to cease his motions. She was rising toward the peak and there was no going back. She was grasping so intently at her breasts that little fingernail indentations were left as evidence. A few expert strokes of his tongue later, and the overwhelming surge of pleasure hit her. Gabriella writhed and moaned as her hips bucked out of pure reflex.

With one final suckle, Troy lifted his head and carefully removed his fingers from Gabriella's centre. All the while, he maintained his slow stroking motion of his member. Gabriella's eyes were closed as she regained control of her ragged feeling, the wave of blissful content washing over her. When her eyelids fluttered open, she saw Troy kneeling back on his haunches, watching her with a coy expression as he languidly pumped his fist up and down.

The love and devotion she felt toward him was channelled into a sudden move forward, in one flowing movement Gabriella had silently handed him a pillow to lie back on, and then once he had nestled back she crouched between his bent spread legs and sank the warm, wet cavern of her mouth around the tip of his length. He was already rock hard and dancing just on the edge of his own climax. Gabriella's tongue swirled around the head, her lips performing the consistent up and down process of taking him into her mouth and then retracting before sinking down again.

In a smattering of expletives and vocal grunts and groans of encouragement, Troy reached the pinnacle of ecstasy, hit by the overwhelming sensations. He felt his liquid spurting within the warmth of her mouth, her tongue tantalisingly stroking and lapping before retracting her lips with a final pop.

The waves of the aftershock still tingling within his muscles, Troy somewhat wearily manoeuvred his body to lie beside Gabriella, finally taking a moment for each of them to lie in reflective bliss. Her hands instinctively roamed over his body, seeking the touch of his comforting warmth. Foreheads leaned together, followed by lips in a short, soft kiss.

"Would now be a good time to tell you that my mom wants you to come over for dinner one night this week," Gabriella said, pressing a gentle kiss to his shoulder.

"Now would be a good time to ask me for just about anything that you could possibly want. Flowers, jewellery, Porsches."

Gabriella giggled. "I love you."

"Love you too," Troy replied, his eyes fluttering closed.

"We should go back down to the party for a while. At least present the guise that we aren't completely anti social."

"Hmm in a while. Nap first," Troy murmured.

He sat up to pull the comforter over them, and then turned onto his side, nestling next to her naked form.

"Okay," Gabriella said agreeably, allowing herself to snuggle within his warm embrace.

* * *

The dance floor was winding down. The music had been turned down – in accordance with Paula's rules about neighbourly respect – which in itself served as a semi dampener upon the party spirit. People who weren't crashing were gradually leaving, some walking, some carpooling, some being picked up by older siblings or tolerant/naïve parents. Seated in an arm chair in the lounge were Kelsi and Jason. He was laughing in a conversation with some other Wildcat juniors who had sought permission to crash. Despite the music, chatter and laughter, Kelsi was leaning into Jason's chest, her eyes drifting closed.

"Kelsi," Jason prodded. "Do you wanna go crash?"

"No it's okay," Kelsi murmured. "I'm just resting my eyes."

"Come on Kelsi, you have rehearsal tomorrow, you were saying before how important it is."

"If Sharpay can run around drunk and Troy and Gabriella can fool around upstairs and then go to a rehearsal tomorrow, I think I can handle staying awake a little longer."

"You told me that if you don't get eight hours sleep every night you spend the whole next day cranky as hell."

"Oh well," Kelsi said, yawning sleepily.

Jason pried her from him, Kelsi's slight whining groan creating a smirk on Jason's face. "I'll just be a minute Kelsi, okay?"

She nodded, blinking wearily and nestling her head into the couch. He returned five minutes later to see Kelsi struggling to keep her eyes open. She would open her eyes in the pretence that she was listening to one of the multiple conversations going on around her, only to have them flutter closed.

"Come on," Jason prodded. "There's some people crashing in the games room in the basement already."

Kelsi allowed herself to be led like a child down the corridor. Indeed, there were some people passed out on fold out and blow up mattresses, as well as someone fast asleep on the couch. Jason had set up another mattress in the corner and dragged a comforter and a couch cushion over. He had also retrieved Kelsi's bag from Paula's room and propped it up by the bed.

"Do you want me to stay?" Jason asked in a hushed tone as Kelsi nestled into the comforter.

"No, you go and have fun," she said sleepily.

He smiled. "Okay. Good night."

She didn't even hear the words, having already drifted off.

* * *

A loud crash within the bedroom next door awoke both Troy and Gabriella from their early morning slumber. Gabriella moaned slightly.

"Shut up," Troy groaned. Even in his groggy state, he realised what it had sounded like. "Not you, them."

"What's the time?" Gabriella asked sleepily.

Troy leaned over, and fished around on the floor for his pants to locate his cell phone.

"Just after 1am," he finally responded.

"Is that all? I feel like we've been up here longer."

Troy stretched a little. "It's official. Getting tipsy, getting off and napping is one of the most incredible feelings in the world. In fact, the tipsy part isn't even necessary. The napping is enough."

"Should we go down and make sure everything is cool?"

"I'd rather stay here with you," Troy said, kissing her shoulder softly.

"Well I have to pee. And I'm kinda hungry," Gabriella admitted.

"I could eat," Troy agreed.

Gabriella located her bra, panties and dress, but left the boots and stockings in the corner of the room.

"I really want my shirt back," Troy complained. "It's weird randomly walking around not wearing a shirt."

"Did you bring clothes with you?" Gabriella asked. "For tomorrow?"

"Yeah but just the one set."

"If we can get into Paula's room I might have something in my bag."

Troy smirked. "Uh, what, a pretty little tank top?"

"No," Gabriella said, smacking him lightly. "I brought one of your shirts to sleep in."

"Oh. Well if we manage to keep possession of this room, you won't be needing that."

* * *

A now clothed Troy and Gabriella headed down stairs, immediately struck by the altered mood downstairs. Soft music was still playing, there was a semi rowdy group of revellers in the kitchen, and a larger mellow group hanging out in the kitchen. Hand in hand, the first thing the pair saw was Paula, Ryan and Jason engaged in an obviously serious conversation in the corridor by the bathroom.

"Hey guys, haven't seen you all night," Jason remarked. Ryan and Paula were both smirking knowingly. Troy and Gabriella just glanced at one another with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Hey, what's going on?" Troy asked.

"You've been drinking, haven't you?" Ryan asked.

"Umm yeah, not for a while though. Why?"

"Sharpay is _smashed_," Jason said.

"Where is she?" Gabriella asked.

"Puking in the toilet," Paula answered, gesturing toward the bathroom. "Seriously Ryan, just crash here, it's fine."

"I have to get her home now. If we go home in the morning and my father sees her hung over… he'll kill her. Actually, he will kill me because he'll say that I'm the one who let her get drunk in the first place. If I can get her home now, then I can just fend him off in the morning or… I don't know. Something. I need someone sober. Or I'll just call a cab."

"I could drive," Troy said. "Really. I haven't had anything to drink in hours."

"No. No way is anyone who has had a drop of alcohol droving a car with my sister," Ryan said firmly.

The sound of the toilet flushing was heard, each head whipping over to see Sharpay emerge. Her wig had been discarded at an unknown point, her blonde locks tied back with haphazard strands falling loose. Her eye make up was severely smudged. She teetered slightly, walking toward them.

"Oh lookie, it's Troy and Gabriella," Sharpay said, except in her drunken slur it came out more like, "Oh-look 's Troy n Gabrla."

"She's been puking and she's still like this? How much did she drink?" Troy demanded softly.

"I don't know! I was hanging out and having a good time, I hardly saw her so I figured she was busy talking to people and if she needed me she'd just hang around. I should have known better," Ryan said, mentally slapping himself.

"I am here," Sharpay said, before bursting into giggles.

"All right you, we're going home," Ryan said firmly. "I'm just gonna call a cab, okay?"

"Let's just…." Sharpay hiccuped. "Walk, Ry. It's not far."

Sharpay could barely stand straight, nonetheless walk.

Ryan coughed. "Umm… no it's okay Shar."

"I don't wanna get a cab," Sharpay whined, even drunk and nauseous finding a way to be demanding.

"We could carry her?" Troy suggested. "It's not far."

"Not a baby," Sharpay slurred.

"Okay then, why don't I call dad?" Ryan bluffed, pulling out his cell phone.

"No!!" Sharpay whined. "Can't… you can't. Kill me… kill you…"

"Because clearly, I am responsible for your actions," Ryan muttered.

"I could drive you," a voice suggested. Ryan looked up to see Martha standing with a set of car keys jangling in her hand. "I was going home in a minute anyway. And I haven't had anything to drink at all."

"Hey, I didn't know you were even still here!" Paula said.

"You haven't drank _anything_?" Ryan queried.

"Not a drop," Martha insisted.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "You are a legend. You are a life saver. Thank you so much."

Ryan quickly went to go and collect Sharpay's purse and his cowboy hat.

"Where is everyone, anyway?" Troy asked Jason.

"A bunch of people have crashed in the basement games room, including Kelsi. Most of our team mates are in the noisy crowd you can hear from the kitchen. Xavier, drinks like a fish. The guy is a legendary chugger. I haven't seen Zeke or Chad in ages."

"Your hair is brown," Sharpay said, in a moment of speaking in a surprising clarity. Troy looked up to see Sharpay reaching out and touching the bottom of Gabriella's hair. "My hair… my hair is not brown."

"Your wig was brown," Gabriella said kindly with a warm smile.

"Okay got everything. Let's go," Ryan said, in a mockingly cheerful tone.

"Just try to keep her awake til she is a little sober," Troy suggested. "Get her to keep puking. Lots and lots of water."

"Yeah. I'll try. I'll see you at rehearsal tomorrow… well… today," he said, rolling his eyes. "At least Darbus isn't gonna be there."

"I'm sure you'll compensate by being an ass kicker in her absence," Gabriella called teasingly, waving him good bye.

Troy turned back to Gabriella. "Let's grab that food, okay. Then maybe we should crash with rehearsal and all."

She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his softly. "We could crash or… do something else."

Troy grinned coyly. "You're insatiable."

"What can I say, the nap rejuvenated me."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **What shall the morning after bring? Find out next time on _Someday..._


	42. Chapter 41

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies. I also do not have any association or ownership of the various songs that I have included titles of in this chapter.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Thanks to _emptrajan_ for previewing and providing feedback about this chapter. Also thanks to each and every single person who has been reading this story... I'm going to get even more slack with not replying to reviews and stuff as often as I used to... I am having a trial week with this full time job this week and so things are going to be a tad hectic. Hopefully my muse can be kept content to keep spitting out chapters, I'm halfway through writing my draft of chapter 47 (of what I am deducing will be 50 chapters) so hopefully, should all be good :-)

**

* * *

****Someday 41**

Gabriella woke up to the sound of soft snoring. She had repositioned herself during the night, presently lying in a stomach down position. She could feel something warm across her back. Somewhat blearily, she opened her eyes and glanced over. Troy was on his back, with his arm splayed out across her lower back.

Glancing around the room for a clock, Gabriella spotted one on the wall and squinted to read the time. 9am. If she and Troy had just gone down stairs, grabbed food and then crashed immediately, there may not be an issue. However activity hadn't exactly gone that way and instead, less than six hours sleep had been gained. Rehearsals were beginning at midday, and all that Gabriella wanted to do was close her eyes and go back to sleep. However the sound of a vacuum cleaner down stairs was igniting feelings of guilt within. Paula had warned people that if they crashed, she wasn't going to tip toe around in the morning, having to do the clean up before her parents got home in the early evening. She'd insisted it was fine for people to sleep all morning, but even under normal circumstances Gabriella would have felt guilty and assisted. Under current circumstances, she was feeling an enormous amount of gratitude toward Paula for her make over skills. The feeling of fuzzy satisfaction within merely heightened as she glanced over at Troy; observing the way hair was mussed on the side of his head and his slightly opened mouth.

Gabriella carefully shuffled onto her side to face Troy. She reached out with her hand, the back of her fingers stroking his cheek lightly.

"Troy," Gabriella murmured.

He stirred a little, and shifted to be lying on his side facing Gabriella, retracting his hand from lying over her. Gabriella shuffled a little closer, close enough that she could feel Troy's steady breathing tickling against her face. She stretched her leg out a little – and inadvertently felt something poking against her leg. She smirked, and couldn't resist but to reach out and encircle her hand around his semi hard length.

"Troy?" she murmured once again.

He drew in a sharp breath, once again stirring slightly. Gabriella nestled a little closer, firmed her grasp around his length and slowly began to pump up and down. Hovering just by his ear, Gabriella whispered, "Time to wake up, stud." She then began to suck and nip on his neck just below his ear. Troy once again stirred, this time his eyes fluttering open in a moment of sudden wake and awareness of just what was happening.

"I should wake up to this every day," Troy said groggily, drawing in a sharp breath.

"Hmm I wouldn't count on that," Gabriella responded, her lips rising from his neck to connect with his lips in a lazy, languorous kiss.

"Am I dreaming?" Troy gasped, Gabriella's strokes becoming firmer and steadier.

"No. Very real."

"True. If it were a dream, you'd be naked," Troy murmured, his eyes travelling down to her t-shirt clad body.

"You slept naked. I made the effort to find my panties and your shirt before going to sleep."

"I was being efficient."

"What, you knew I'd wake you up with a handjob?" she murmured breathily by his ear, her hand steadily stroking up and down.

"Sometimes if you want something bad enough, it'll happen. Like right now, the only way this morning wake up could be better is if you were wearing a whole lot less."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes it takes a little action on your part to get what you want happening. What's stopping you?"

* * *

Kelsi awoke to a low rumbling noise. She tried to block it out. She'd set an alarm the night before just in case she didn't wake up in time, and the alarm hadn't gone off yet and so it was fine for her to continue to sleep. But she opened her eyes and glanced around, registering what the rumbling noise was.

Jason was lying beside her on the double fold out mattress. A small smile formed on her face. She hadn't even known he had come in. Kelsi was a fairly deep sleeper, and given being tired enough she could fall asleep even with the sounds of the party going on just on the other side of the wall. So at what point Jason had collapsed beside her, she had no idea. He was lying flat on his back, mouth open slightly as he snored contently. She couldn't help but roll her eyes seeing a can of beer beside him. Kelsi glanced around the room, seeing a few other people still sleeping off the after affects of alcohol. Now that she'd woken up there was no way she was going to get back to sleep, especially not with Jason's eloquent snoring beside her.

As quietly and steadily as possible, Kelsi pushed the comforter off her and swung her legs to the edge, before easing herself off the mattress. She picked up her satchel and then tiptoed out, to head toward the bathroom. Both the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms were occupied, so Kelsi waited patiently outside the downstairs bathroom. Taylor emerged, looking slightly worse for wear.

"Morning," Kelsi said cheerily.

Taylor nodded. "Morning."

"You don't look too good. Feeling okay?"

"Not particularly."

"I hardly saw you at all last night."

"Yeah I was… umm… busy," Taylor said a little lamely.

"Hooking up with Jerome?" Kelsi asked quietly.

"Oh my God, does everyone know about that? It was just a game, why are people so fixated on it."

"Rumour has it you were hanging out with him after that."

"He's my friend. And… and we were just hanging. No crime in that."

"No, no there's not."

Taylor sighed and rubbed her eyes wearily. "Look I don't wanna talk about it. I just want to go do my bit, help Paula with the clean up, then get out of here."

"Taylor?" Kelsi said timidly.

"Mmm?"

"You know Ryan's cocktail party at the beginning of this year?"

"Yes, I recall it," Taylor said, a little whimsically. She recalled that party for so many reasons. The physical activity between herself and Chad had been more than hot. Physical activity which had taken place after the mutually definitive conclusion that they were in fact officially going out, that they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

"Do you remember that I hooked up with Marty, that guy from Albuquerque Boys College?"

Taylor nodded. "Yeah."

"I remember standing in the kitchen and Gabriella and Martha telling me to go for it. It felt wrong because I had a huge crush on Jason. But as they said, I had no loyalty to Jason. I wound up hooking up with Marty and it was fun but… it felt kinda wrong and dirty the whole time."

"What's your point, Kelsi?"

"You have no loyalty to Chad. You broke up with him. He agreed with the break up. There is nothing technically wrong with you and Jerome hooking up. If you feel bad about it, I don't think that it's got anything to do with people gossipping about it. You're not the kind of person to let gossip bother you. I think that if you feel bad about it, it's because your actions contradicted your feelings. It speaks volumes about your feelings for Chad."

Taylor narrowed her eyes. "When did you get so smart?"

Kelsi gave her a small smile. "Maybe you need to talk to Chad about it."

* * *

Gabriella's naked form was nestled into Troy, her hands lovingly roaming over his upper body as she pressed sporadic, soft kisses to his shoulder and neck.

"You're right, every morning should begin like that," she murmured, her heart still beating at an increased rapid.

"Uh huh," Troy said coyly.

"Although I really hadn't planned that. I genuinely wanted to go and help Paula clean up," Gabriella said.

"Don't worry, there's plenty of time," Troy said softly, kissing her on the shoulder.

Gabriella wriggled herself into sitting upright position. "Did you see the disaster area down there last night?"

"Sorry, I have to say that my attention wasn't really on the stuff around me but more so on you," Troy said flirtatiously.

"You can stop flattering me, you've had your morning happy," Gabriella said cheekily. "Now come on, let's stop mooching around and take advantage of being only tired and not hungover."

"We could save time and share a shower," Troy said suggestively. As he spoke the words, he was very genuine in thinking it was a legitimate idea – but nevertheless, highly prepared for Gabriella's less than appeased reaction.

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Or not!"

"Oh come on, it's environmentally friendly," Troy insisted, trying to rationalise it for her.

"Yeah, sure, that's why you're suggesting it. To conserve water," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

"You're so cute. Fifteen minutes ago the last thing you were thinking about was being naked. Now you have that sheet wrapped around you like I haven't seen your breasts before."

"It's… it's… it's different!" Gabriella spluttered. "Just because you can sit there all proud to be in your birthday suit."

Troy smirked. "Oh, you noticed that, huh?"

"Go shower," Gabriella said, throwing a pillow at him. "And meanwhile, I might go and try to acquire some clean sheets."

* * *

When a person wakes up, there is a groggy few moments in time where their senses are hyper aware of what is directly around. The context is irrelevant. The awareness of how you got there and what you're doing is pushed aside. As Zeke began to stir on Sunday morning, he felt the curve of a warm body nestled into him, he felt the smooth warmth of skin beneath the tips of his fingers, waves of ebony hair just in front of his face. He took in a deep breath and stretched a little, before grasping the figure a little closer to his body. He opened his eyes slowly, and took in the form that lay before him. She too began to stir, her hand entwining with the hand that was resting lighting on her stomach.

She lazily rolled over and fluttered her eyes open, to find herself staring into his eyes.

"Morning," Zeke whispered.

"Morning," came Monica's timid, uncertain tone.

"You don't look too impressed to see me."

Monica bit her lip. "I just… I just can't help but…"

"Regret what we did?"

She sat up, gathering the sheet around her as she glanced onto the floor in search of her clothing.

"Monica?" Zeke said questioningly.

"Let's talk about it later."

"I wanna talk about it now," Zeke insisted. "Given that you pretty much instigated this and it was me who kinda let down my guard by allowing this to happen, I think you owe me that much."

Monica sighed and flopped back down onto the bed. She ensured she was covered by the sheet and comforter before turning onto her side, her arm bent, head resting on her hand.

"I just… oh God…. This is why it is bad to make decisions to do life affecting things when you've been drinking," Monica murmured, her eyes trained on the surface of the bed between them.

"What have you got to be regretting?" Zeke asked. "Isn't this what you wanted? Us to be back together?"

"Zeke, the best way to rebuild a relationship isn't to sleep together while half drunk and then go from there," Monica said matter of factly.

"It's my feelings that are being toyed with here. I don't know why you're flipping out about it."

"Do you want to rebuild a relationship? Or was this just a…. a fling?" Monica asked.

"I don't know," Zeke said awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably.

"There you have it. _That_ is why I am feeling regretful. Because you don't even know what it meant."

"That was the whole point last night! Wasn't it? To just live in the moment and worry about it later?"

"Please, we were drunk and horny. Anything to believe that it's okay to sleep together. We both knew that the implications were a whole lot bigger."

"Well I happen to have thought otherwise."

"You're such a guy," Monica said with a sigh, rubbing her temples.

"Uh… thank you?"

Monica exhaled and sat up. "I'm… I'm just going to get dressed and take some aspirin and… and maybe we should talk about this later. You know, after you've had time to think about if it meant anything."

* * *

Gabriella changed into her clothes for the day in order to make herself presentable to go downstairs. She found Paula in the kitchen, where she was washing up the bowls and platters the food had been served in.

"Morning," Gabriella said softly. "Sleep well?"

"Brief, but well. Alcohol is good like that, sets you straight to sleep."

Gabriella smiled. "Tell me about it."

"Bolton still asleep?"

"Oh no, I woke him up. He's just taking a shower. Umm… this is a little… okay. Could you point me in the direction of where I can locate some spare sheets?" Gabriella asked a little sheepishly.

Paula smirked. "Can't Bolton control his aim?"

Gabriella blushed furiously. "Uh… not this morning, no."

Paula led Gabriella back upstairs and to a linen closet. She glanced around and lowered her voice. "You didn't… you know… did you?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No."

"Good. I was worried after our talk the other day. Yes I think you're worrying about nothing but I also think you and Troy deserve better than tipsy at a party."

"Seems like you and he are on the same wavelength."

Paula peered into the cupboard, rifling through the sheet sets. "I am changing every single set of sheets in the entire house while wearing rubber gloves. Better to be safe than sorry."

Gabriella laughed. "Good idea. Now come on, I'll help you with this."

* * *

Chad woke up to the smell of grease and dirt and oil. The room was almost completely dark, and it took him a few moments to readjust his eyes so that he could make out shapes. The floor was hard beneath him, only a thick fluffy blanket separating him between what felt like concrete flooring. Despite the somewhat pounding headache he was experiencing, his eyes darted around, trying to work out exactly where he was. The little that he did know was that he wasn't in a cushy bedroom or lounge. He knew that his back was killing him from sleeping on the hard surface. He knew his head was killing him, and that he smelt like a brewery. He knew that beneath the comforter that was strewn over him, he wasn't wearing anything. Chad grimly reached his hand out, and whacked it against something metal.

"Ugh," he grunted, snatching his hand back.

He squinted, his eyes having adjusted slightly to the lack of light. It occurred to Chad that he was in the garage. The tiny amount of light in the room was provided by the slightest of cracks between the garage door and the floor. He sat up, in the process whacking his leg against something. It wasn't something metal this time. It was something human.

"Ow," a female voice said sleepily.

"Kayla?" Chad questioned groggily.

"Who else?" her soft, sleepy voice came.

"Why is it so fucking dark in here?" Chad grumbled. "I can't see anything."

"Dark should work well with a hangover. If you're feeling anything like what I'm feeling that is."

"True. Except for the whole part where I can hardly see a thing."

Chad reached forward, his hand landing on the car, and groped around until he found the handle. He opened the car door a little, providing just enough light from the light in the car to allow him to actually see where he was. They were lying on a thick blanket on the space between the two vehicles in the Hoffman garage. He closed his eyes, trying desperately to search his foggy brain to work out how exactly they had wound up here. He turned back, finally allowing himself to look at Kayla.

To see Kayla lying on her side, staring at him coyly. The comforter which covered them had fallen down around her taut stomach.

Causing Chad to see a whole lot more than he felt comfortable seeing.

"Cover yourself up, woman," Chad yelped, yanking at the comforter to cover her breasts. He winced, the sudden movement aggravating the pain in his head.

Kayla chuckled lightly. "Ironic that you say that after what we were doing last night."

"What… what…. What we were doing?" Chad repeated in a stammer.

"What, you don't remember? Gee Chad, you really know how to make a girl feel special."

He stared at her, inching away as far as he could. "I… I don't remember," he mumbled. "I have this vague memory of you and me doing some shots and… maybe of making out but…"

"Chad, we're in the garage naked together. I know you're not the brightest crayon in the box but come on, put two and two together." Chad's eyes widened. "Relax, I'm pretty sure we were just fooling around."

"You're _pretty_ sure?!" Chad yelped. He closed his eyes and collapsed back onto the cushion that was on the ground. He closed his eyes, trying to will the events of the evening to come back.

"Okay I am sure. You drank wayyy more than me. I was shotting water and you didn't even realise."

Chad groaned. "I feel like I might vomit."

"Ew, get away from me then."

"I didn't mean it literally. I meant it figuratively." Chad sat up again, and began to glance around frantically. "_Where_ are my clothes?"

Kayla exhaled, and reached out to gently hold onto his upper arm. "You need to calm down. I know you drank a lot but I'll have you know that when we first started making out, before you did all the extra shots, you were a perfectly willing instigator of this, and sober enough to make a decision. That'll come back to you soon and you'll feel like an idiot for flipping out like this."

Chad snatched his arm away from her grasp. "I couldn't care less, whichever way, however it happened…. Whatever _it_ is that happened… this is _wrong_."

"It felt pretty right to me," Kayla said a little dreamily, nestling down underneath the comforter with a slightly faraway expression upon her face.

"Kay… you know that I don't like you that way."

"God, you've been hanging around Bolton and his sappy girlfriend too much. I don't like you that way either, we've been there and done that. So what, who cares?"

"I care."

"Why, because of Taylor?" Kayla said, a little bitterly.

Chad let out a sigh and lay back down, resting his weary head against the cushion. "Yes," Chad said quietly.

"And do you remember anything before you got smashed? Like what it was you saw that made you decide to get drunk?"

"Yes," Chad said darkly. "But… it's… fuck it's complicated."

"What happened to you Chad? Why is it so fucking complicated?"

"Life happened."

"Big whoop. If you like her, then… you shouldn't let life get in the way of that."

"I find it ironic that my ex-girlfriend who I apparently was fooling around with last night is giving me advice about my other ex-girlfriend who I caught macking on another guy last night."

"Life is filled with ironies."

"Since when did you become all philosophical?" Chad mused.

He sat up again, glanced behind him and caught a glimpse of a pile of clothing somewhere between where they lay and the door into the garage.

"Come on, let's get dressed and get out of here. Last thing I need is someone walking in and seeing us like this."

"Chad?" Kayla said quietly.

He looked back. "What?"

"You should talk to her."

* * *

Ryan had only been awake for an hour and he had already had four cups of coffee. He didn't typically drink coffee, although if he added Nesquik to create a mocha then he found it perfectly tolerable. He'd been awake until 3 keeping Sharpay awake as long as possible. He'd then tucked her into bed. When he went back in to check on her at 9, she was passed out, asleep on her back. Ryan had never seen anyone lying as still as Sharpay was, it was almost frightening. If it weren't for the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, he might have almost freaked out that something had happened. He was sitting in the dining room with the musical script in front of him, making notes, when he heard a low moan emitting from the doorway. He glanced up to see Sharpay looking a little worse for wear. Her normally perfectly sculpted blonde hair was mussed up, with a fuzzy mass on the side of her head. Dark bags featured under her eyes, and there was no doubting just by looking at her that she still felt ill.

"Morning Shar," Ryan said tentatively. "How you feeling?"

Sharpay glared at him. "How exactly do you _think_ I am feeling?"

"Okay, okay. Sit down. I'll make you some coffee and get you some aspirin."

"Make sure you do it with vanilla flavour," Sharpay said with a groan.

Ryan gave her a tight smile. "Sure."

He started with the aspirin, handing her the tablets and a glass of water. Sharpay tentatively swallowed them, closing her eyes momentarily as the liquid slid down her throat. Ryan fussed about in the kitchen silently, as Sharpay sat at the table with her head in her hands.

"Where's daddy?" she asked quietly.

"At Lava Springs. Playing golf this morning then he has a luncheon."

He placed the mug of coffee down in front of her.

"Did I… did I say anything embarrassing to… to anyone?" Sharpay ventured, staring at the mug of coffee, unable to even look at him.

"I think Troy was otherwise occupied for most of the night," Ryan said bluntly.

"I wasn't asking about Troy."

"You didn't have to"

Sharpay didn't say anything, she just kept staring into the coffee mug.

* * *

Troy bound down the stairs, looking surprisingly spry for someone who had only had a few hours sleep the night before. He headed straight into the kitchen, where he saw Gabriella with her back to him, in a conversation with Taylor.

"Hello ladies," he announced cheerfully, wrapping his arms around Gabriella's waist from behind, his hands on her stomach. Her hands naturally fell on top of his.

"Morning," Taylor said.

"I hardly saw you last night," Troy remarked.

"I was around," Taylor said elusively. "Besides, it wasn't like you were around a lot to actually see me."

Gabriella's eyes darted around, looking slightly embarrassed. Troy pressed a soft kiss to the crook of Gabriella's neck, and just smiled coyly.

"The upstairs bathroom should be free," he told Gabriella.

"If you lot are just going to stand around socialising, can you go elsewhere and do it?" Paula asked, coming into the room. "I just got a call from my mom, they're gonna be home mid afternoon instead of late afternoon."

"I thought you had permission to have this party?" Taylor asked.

"You know how it is. I had permission to hold a 'gathering'. They pretend that they don't realise it's a party. You have it all cleaned up before they get here and all is right in the world."

"Well, now you have a strong, virile man at your service. What do you need to get done?" Troy said masculinely.

"Virile is indeed the word from what I hear," Taylor muttered.

Gabriella looked mortified, however Troy just ignored the comment and waited for Paula's response.

"I'm just going to grab a quick shower and I'll come back to help. We don't have to leave for rehearsal for almost an hour," Gabriella promised Paula.

She disentangled herself from Troy and disappeared upstairs.

"Right, now what do you want me to do?" Troy asked Paula again.

Taylor also waited patiently for instruction.

"Can I give you guys a dirty chore?" Paula asked.

"Like?"

"Could you grab the trash bags that are out on the balcony and take them into the garage? I'm gonna take them to the dump later because our garbage bins are almost full. Don't put them in my car though, I'm not taking them til later and I don't want to stink my car up, I just want them out of the way, so just in the door of the garage is fine."

Troy grimaced a little but smiled compliantly. "Okay. Come on McKessie, time to use those muscles."

Taylor followed Troy out onto the balcony. "So um… did you talk to Chad last night?" Taylor asked.

"Not much. Chad and I are… not on the greatest of terms at the moment," he explained tactfully.

"Oh. I guess I thought you guys would just sort it out."

"We normally do. This time… it's different."

Taylor nodded. "I can't help but think that there is something Chad isn't telling people."

"And if there isn't? That's his problem. He can't expect people to mooch about him harassing him to reveal his soul if he's just gonna be a moody ass."

"Very… eloquently put." Taylor paused. "Did you hear about our argument?"

"Yes. I think everyone heard about it, even if they weren't there to witness it for themselves."

"I think I wanna talk to him. Properly. Try to… try to work out what happened," Taylor said abruptly.

Troy began to tie off each of the trash bags. "You know, Danforth doesn't deserve that. But… you guys seemed to be working out and I guess it's a shame to just throw it away."

"What do you mean, he doesn't deserve that?" Taylor said slowly. "I thought… I guess I thought you'd be on his side."

Troy scratched the back of his neck. "I hadn't thought about there being sides. But… I guess I'm with you. I get why you broke up with him. I've seen how he's gone all… weird. You try to talk to him and… nothing. So yeah, I get why you did it."

"I guess what happened to me and Chad is kinda the same as what has happened to you and Chad," Taylor mused.

Troy nodded. "Sort of. Except without the gay connotation of what you just said."

"But you don't seem to be doing much to fix your friendship."

Troy sighed. "This is where it's different with you guys and me and Chad. Everything was good with you guys til all this shit happened. With me and Chad… it just seems like we keep getting pissed at each other, and we keep getting over it except I don't think we ever actually get over it. You can list all my flaws if you want, but the guy has screwed me over and turned his back on me more times than I wanna think about over the last year. And… right now, I don't feel like putting effort into fixing that."

Taylor was looking at Troy with a look of fascinated disbelief.

"What? What's that look?"

"I just… I had no idea you felt like that."

Troy shrugged. "Whatever. It's not a big deal at the moment. I've just got enough shit going on without making life more complicated. But you… like I said, it's different. My gut is telling me to not bother. If your gut is saying to talk to him… then I think you should."

Troy picked up a garbage bag. "Come on. Let's get this over and done with."

"Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. You're surprisingly good at the advice thing."

Troy grinned. "Don't tell anyone, I wouldn't want to taint my reputation."

Taylor picked up a garbage bag in each hand while Troy picked up the remainders; and the pair headed through the house to the doorway that led into the garage. Troy set a bag down on the floor so that he would have a hand free to open the door for Taylor.

To find Chad standing in his boxers and t-shirt, holding a pair of jeans in his hand.

"Danforth, what the fuck are you…"

Chad's expression was one of mortified horror as everything happened in slow motion. Troy and Taylor stepped into the garage. Kayla came into view, as she was still loafing around on the makeshift bed, having made no effort to put her clothes on despite Chad having thrown them to her.

"What the…" Troy breathed.

"This… this… is NOT what it looks like," Chad stammered.

The sound of glass smashing echoed through the room. Taylor had dropped her garbage bags, one of them being filled with glass bottles. She swallowed, and calmly turned and walked away.

"Taylor!" Chad called desperately after her. He hurriedly pulled his jeans on, doing up the fly as he stumbled after her. "Tay!"

Troy was completely dumbfounded, still looking backwards and forwards between Kayla who was watching on in amusement and Chad who was scrambling after Taylor.

"Put some clothes on," was all that Troy could find himself to say to Kayla, his tone dripping with contempt.

Troy followed after Chad, who had caught up with Taylor just outside the front door.

"Taylor, talk to me," Chad pleaded.

Taylor paused on the footpath, but didn't look back.

"I can't look at you let alone talk to you," Taylor's cool, calm voice responded. "I have to go. Don't try to follow me."

Chad watched in desperation. She didn't run. Her head wasn't hanging low. She held her head high as she calmly walked away.

"Have you gone fucking _insane_?" Troy demanded. "Seriously man. You're going around mooching about Taylor and your solution is to go and hook up with your ex?"

Chad turned around, seeing Troy standing in the front doorway with a look of indignant condemnation.

"I have done nothing wrong. Me and Taylor broke up. I am free to hook up with whoever I wanna hook up with. And stop judging me when you don't know anything about the fucking situation!"

Troy stepped through the doorway and onto the walkway. "I'm not judging you, I'm offering my opinion and…"

"You are too judging me. And keep your fucking nose out of my fucking business. My business has nothing to do with you!"

"Good to know what you think of our friendship," Troy said bitterly.

"Friendship? What friendship?"

"Fuck you man. You're right. What friendship. I'm fucking sick to death of this fucking bullshit. I've got too much going on to…"

"Yeah as per usual. Too much going on to care."

"That is _not_ what I was gonna say! Of course I fucking care but I can't do anything if you won't _let _me!"

"Oh something new, goodie. Troy has made something that has absolutely nothing to do with him about himself," Kayla said breezily, having dressed and come outside to witness the confrontation.

"Kayla, stay the fuck out of this," Troy snapped. "Your input has nothing to do with this."

"On the contrary, Troy, my opinion is rather relevant given that this is about me. It's about Chad and Taylor and what me and Chad did last night." Kayla's tone was bored and casual. "Which, FYI, there was nothing wrong with. She dumped him. He's free to fool around with whoever he wants to fool around with. But see, in this whole scenario, your name doesn't come up. So why don't you just lay off him."

Chad turned to stand beside Kayla, his arms folded as he glared at Troy. "Ironically, she and I are on the same wavelength. This doesn't have anything to do with you."

The boys hadn't been quiet, and human nature dictates that people who hear a fight brewing run toward it. A whole group of remaining party goers who were mooching about and 'helping' with the clean up appeared. Including Zeke and Kelsi; and also Gabriella. She was the first to attempt to intervene.

"What's going on?" Gabriella exclaimed.

Troy glanced back to see his girlfriend with a towel in her hands, rubbing at her wet, ebony curls, before tearing his eyes back to Chad.

"Well something having nothing to do with you has never stopped you from interfering with my life," Troy said darkly.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Well, for one, when I auditioned for the winter musical last year, you made that all about you when it had nothing to do with you at all. You can stand here and tell me that I'm wrong and get pissed at me for judging you and argue that you can hook up with whoever you want and I'll accept that. But don't you fucking dare stand there and tell me that this is NOT my business because you know what? Taylor is my friend and I at least thought you were my friend and I don't like it when my friends fuck up their lives and sometimes you just need someone to knock some sense into you and tell you that you're being a fucking ass."

"Excuse me?" Chad demanded, stepping closer to Troy. "Don't fucking tell me what I can and can't say!"

"I'll tell you whatever the fuck I wanna tell you," Troy snapped back, taking a step forward.

"Fuck you!" Chad shouted, pushing Troy violently.

"What the fuck was that for!" Troy shouted, pushing Chad right back.

"Uh… guys…" Zeke said somewhat timidly.

"It was for being an egotistical cock," Chad shouted, pushing Troy once again.

"Guys!" Gabriella exclaimed.

She went to take a step forward to intervene, but Zeke held his arm out to block her path and keep her back.

In a frenzied motion, Chad and Troy lunged at one another simultaneously. Often in film and television, fist fights can be romanticised, seeming almost like a dance – a violent dance, but a dance, almost graceful, movements occurring in sequence.

There was nothing to romanticise about two guys, once best friends, now filled with so much rage at one another that the overall goal was to inflict pain.

Fists were flying with little care about any sort of precision. Chad was the first to strike, his fist connecting with Troy's eye. Troy kept his balance, reciprocating almost instantaneously with a swift uppercut to Chad's jaw. Chad lunged at Troy again, his fist ploughing into his ribs. Troy's hand instinctively clutched at the searing pain at his side before glaring at his so called friend. He swung once, however Chad ducked and Troy's hand slammed into the brick wall behind Chad's head. A second attempt saw Troy's fist connect in a low jab to Chad's abdomen.

Gabriella was watching, wide eyed. There was a primeval rage within both sets of eyes. She'd seen Troy upset and angry, she'd seen him on the verge of tipping over. She'd had him recall an incident of two which had resulted in a fist fight. Witnessing it was a completely different matter. All she wanted was for them to stop, and yet she couldn't move her feet and she couldn't bring herself to say anything. All she could do was stare in a horrific trance, and clutch onto Kelsi's hand.

"All right that's it," Zeke said, and motioned to a bunch of the onlooking guys that intervention was necessary.

Zeke and Xavier grabbed onto Chad from behind, while Pablo and Benny grabbed onto Troy; yanking the guys apart.

"Stay out of this Baylor," Chad grunted, as his nose was dripping with blood, feeling the urge to attack again.

Troy didn't fight Pablo and Benny, instead just allowing them to yank him away, resigning to the fact that the guys were going to keep them separated.

Chad made a move towards him, snarling, "Yeah that's right, Troy has to be the hero and back down."

Zeke and Xavier once again yanked Chad back, and Zeke even went so far as to shove Chad away. "Shut the fuck up unless you want me to kick your ass."

Chad's eyes were wild as he looked backwards and forwards from Zeke to Troy. His body relaxed a little as he felt the surrender coming over him. He felt blood dripping down his face from his nose but he couldn't care less.

"Fuck you," Chad snarled at Troy. "This is fucked. I'm gone. This is over."

He fished around in his pocket, making sure he still had his keys and cell phone.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"What the hell is going on?" Paula's voice exclaimed as she appeared in the door way. She looked back and forth between her two friends, seeing Troy's already slightly swelled eye, and the blood on Chad's face and the spots which had appeared on her drive way.

"Oh good. More mess to clean up. You guys are fucking ridiculous."

"Spare us the lecture. I'm getting out of here," Chad retorted, and stormed away.

"Yeah just fuck off," Troy couldn't resist but call after him.

"Shut the fuck up," Paula snapped at Troy.

She grabbed him by the sleeve and yanked him along back into the house and into the kitchen. She efficiently retrieved a pack of frozen peas, wrapped them in a dish towel and plonked it into his hands, which he grimly held to his eye. Zeke, Kelsi and Gabriella had trailed after them.

"Why are you such an idiot Troy?" Paula demanded.

Gabriella hadn't dropped Kelsi's hand, she was still clinging onto her friend. In that brief window of time, Gabriella looked at her boyfriend feeling a slight morsel of apprehension. A part of her was fond of Paula's approach, wanting to thwack Troy on the back of the head and tell him that he's an idiot. However that morsel of apprehension faded away when she saw the wounded look on Troy's face, when he winced as he sat down on a chair, his free hand clutching at his side.

"What happened?" Zeke asked.

"Here, do you want me to hold that?" Gabriella made the split decision that there was no point in ragging on him, it seemed Paula was fulfilling that role enough. And so Gabriella moved forward, her hand reached out for the make shift ice pack.

"Don't coddle him Gabriella, it only encourages this behaviour," Paula said calmly.

"He started it," Troy said darkly, taking the icepack away.

"Keep it on there, you know the drill, twenty minutes every hour," Paula said, pushing his hand back to his face.

"That might prove to be difficult this afternoon."

"I don't care. Troy, you're an idiot! I don't care if he started it. You kept it going. You're above that kind of garbage."

"You give me too much credit because right now I am wishing that I could have done more than potentially break his nose."

"I still want to know what happened…" Zeke ventured.

"Chad and I were fooling around last night," Kayla answered, appearing into the room. "We somehow wound up crashing in the garage, and Troy and Taylor came in with garbage. Caught us half dressed…"

"Not dressed at all in your case," Troy muttered.

"Whatever," Kayla said, rolling her eyes. "Taylor stormed off and Chad followed her and then Troy wound up angry at Chad and then they decided to solve their problems by beating each other up."

"It… it wasn't about you," Troy admitted. "It was about… Fuck… I don't know. A lot of shit."

"They do this you know, they get all shitty with each other. It all blows over," Zeke said casually. He wasn't taking it seriously at all.

"Anyway I'm taking off. Umm… great party Paula, thanks heaps," Kayla said, somewhat awkwardly.

She was barely heard let alone acknowledged. Paula gave her team mate a tight smile and a small wave goodbye.

"It's different this time though," Gabriella said quietly. "Isn't it?"

"You know, I'd rather not talk about it," Troy said bluntly. "Because right now I feel like my face is on fire, and not to mention that I might have broken a rib."

"Broken a rib?" Gabriella repeated, alarmed. The split second decision to take on the role of doting nurturer had overtaken completely. "Okay, you should go get it X-rayed right now."

"I'm being dramatic. It's just going to be bruised," Troy said. "Besides, we have to go sing and dance and be merry for five hours."

"Speaking of that, we probably should get going now," Kelsi said quietly, glancing at her watch.

"Troy, can I give you some food for thought?" Paula said.

"What, you haven't already scolded enough?" Troy asked sarcastically.

Paula sighed. "I get that whatever is going on between you and Chad is complicated and can't just be fixed with the wave of a wand. And I don't care if you don't even want to fix it. Whatever. That's your decision. But this is going to start affecting your team and your season – which in turn could impact upon your whole future. So maybe you need to be the bigger man here and try to find a way to at least cooperate enough to move forward with your basketball season."

Troy bristled, obviously affected by Paula's words but not willing to admit that she was right.

"Gabi, Kelsi, get your stuff. We'll go in a minute," Troy said shortly.

* * *

"Guys, you don't have to stay and keep helping, I really don't mind if you want to take off," Paula said.

"It's cool, really," Zeke insisted. "You're always one of the last people hanging around helping other people clean up after they have a party. What else do you need done?"

"Umm, I need to just do a final check of the backyard and then I can count that done."

"Monica and I will do that. Come on," Zeke said promptly.

Monica didn't say anything, she just wordlessly followed Zeke outside. He grabbed a trash bag and they slowly began to prowl around the property. They were silent for two minutes, before Zeke finally spoke.

"I know that you said that you wanted for me to think about whether I wanted this but… I can't help but feel like you really meant whether we both want this."

Monica swallowed. "I know that I want this Zeke, but I don't know if you do. And… and I don't just mean because of what happened with Sammy. I mean… I mean that there's more to why you might not want this. Or maybe, why you shouldn't want this, or would be wanting this for the wrong reasons."

"What are you going on about?"

Monica sighed. "Were you or were you not hanging with Sharpay before we…. Before we hooked up last night?"

Zeke cleared his throat, and glanced away uncomfortably. "Well yeah, I was hanging with her. But that's all. She was smashed and needed someone to keep an eye on her."

"Right."

Zeke went to speak, but then he sensed that Monica wasn't finished and waited for her to speak again.

"Do you still like her?" Monica finally asked, her voice small.

"Nothing happened. We were only talking," Zeke insisted.

Monica laughed. "I don't care if you were fooling around with her. Hell, I heard all about you fooling around with that college girl at the frat party Liana dragged you to. I didn't ask you if anything happened. I asked you if you still like her."

Zeke rubbed his eyes. "That's a complicated question with an even more complicated answer."

"Un-complicate it."

"I know it's not gonna happen with Sharpay. She doesn't like me like that. I know that. I'm not trying to get her. I have no intention of trying to get her. But… I would be lying if I told you that I don't still think about her like that sometimes."

"Then we don't need to keep talking about this."

Zeke stopped in his tracks, staring at his ex girlfriend dumbfounded. "Let me get this straight. You cheat on me, you go out with your ex-boyfriend and hook up with him. I find out and end the relationship. And now you're trying to make our relationship failing about me and Sharpay?"

"No I'm not. I know that I fucked up. But maybe it was fates way of telling us this isn't right. If I'd known this was right, I wouldn't have needed to see Sammy again. I know that you never totally got over Sharpay. I knew that all along, and I think you knew that I knew it and we were just trying to pretend it wasn't there. And I think that if I hadn't asked you about this, you would have told me that you were willing to give us another chance, all because you were talking to Sharpay last night and realised yet again that it isn't going to happen."

Zeke was silent. Monica had a slight tear in her eye as she stood staring at the ground. She drew in a deep breath.

"I think it's clean and tidy out here. I'm gonna go let Paula know."

* * *

The car ride from Paula's to Lava Springs was eerily quiet for Troy, Gabriella and Kelsi. The three had formed a fairly comfortable bond, with Gabriella and Kelsi normally chatting non stop. However to say the mood was sullen was an understatement. Troy had barely spoken a word since they'd gotten in the car. Without saying anything, he pulled over at the gas station to fill up his truck. He opened his door to retrieve his wallet from where he had placed it in the storage compartment behind the handbrake.

"Either of you want anything from the shop?" Troy asked shortly.

Gabriella glanced into the backseat at Kelsi briefly before turning back. "I'll come with you," she said brightly, and opened the door to follow Troy into the station.

He proceeded to wander through the small selection of products for sale, and grabbed a bunch of bottles of sports drink.

"You want one?" Troy asked shortly.

"No thank you. Ryan said we will get soft drink and coffee and tea at the club."

"What about something to eat? I was thinking about grabbing some chips, I feel like chips. Or maybe a chocolate bar, would you like a chocolate bar? See here, they practically 2 for 1."

"Troy, you don't have to talk to me about it, but at least say something about it so that I know that you're okay," Gabriella pleaded.

"Didn't you hear Paula? You're not meant to coddle me."

"I'm not coddling you," Gabriella insisted.

"Okay, but don't act like you're fine. Look, there's a new Gatorade flavour. Oh wait no, that's not new."

"What do you mean don't act like I'm fine? This isn't about me being fine," Gabriella said, clearly confused.

"You should be pissed at me," Troy said bluntly.

"_I_should be pissed at _you_? Why?" Gabriella asked incredulously.

"Coz… I was out of line and angry and… and I don't like you seeing me like that."

Gabriella let out a long winded sigh. "You were out of line. I didn't like seeing you like that. But that doesn't mean I'm going to be pissed at you. I get that you boys get like that sometimes. It's not like you're out there picking fights with people all the time or anything. And I know that this whole thing with Chad had been building and grating at you, and that life in general is stressful and it would aggravate the whole scenario. I'm not saying I think either of you was right but… I get how it got like that."

Troy glanced sideways at Gabriella, making direct eye contact with her for the first time since the confrontation with Chad.

"You know what's stupid? I feel better about it now. It's like… this big tension is lifted."

"Somehow I don't think Chad is going to feel that way. He seemed… really pissed," Gabriella said delicately. "You are going to try to fix things now aren't you? I mean, not just because of what Paula said?"

"Of course I want to fix it!" Troy exclaimed.

"Good. That's good."

Troy sighed. "It's just… it's not exactly simple, you know?"

"I know," Gabriella said comfortingly, rubbing his arm. "Okay you. Let's get going. Kelsi is probably wondering what on earth we're doing in here."

Troy nodded, and turned to head towards the counter, but then turned back to Gabriella. "Hey?"

"Yeah?"

"Umm… just so you know… I so don't deserve you."

Gabriella smiled. "Buy me that chocolate bar and we'll call it even."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I promise they'll get to the rehearsal eventually. This is just the longest weekend of their lives, is all. It's like '24' style. Without the death and stuff blowing up. Review? :-) -Dani xo


	43. Chapter 42

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Just a quick general note that there are little bits and pieces that may seem a little blah, but I am working them in as set up for the next Part within the trilogy. I.e. references to what will happen to Troy's golf job and stuff like that.

**

* * *

****Chapter 42**

Ryan was feeling more than a little bit nervous. He had run segments of rehearsals before, since being appointed as assistant director, Darbus had sent him off with a smaller group of performers to co-ordinate on a regular basis. However when she had informed him that due to a prior personal engagement she would be unable to attend the Sunday rehearsal at Lava Springs – he had assumed that another of the teachers would be put in charge, someone who commanded authority. However he had discussed the matter with the teacher representing the dance, art and music departments and the vote had come through 3 to 1– Ryan Evans was the best person to be in charge for the first full run through at Lava Springs. It had been Ryan and Ryan alone who had voted in favour of anyone other than himself being placed in charge, but he was outvoted. Ultimately Ryan was very obedient to authority – so when Miss Keller had told him firmly, 'Ryan, you _are_ in charge on Sunday'; he meekly agreed.

And now, he was nervous. He'd managed to get himself and Sharpay to Lava Springs early – despite the pained expression on her face at the thought of going anywhere or doing anything other than collapsing back into bed . The other teacher supervisors had also arrived early, and Ryan had tentatively run through his planned outline of proceedings for the day. They were all in agreement. Each was an expert within their own field, but none of them had experience with putting on a musical theatre production before – hence putting their faith within Ryan and his abilities.

As cast and crew gradually trickled into the arena, sitting and standing around in chatting groups – suddenly Ryan felt the weight of responsibility upon his shoulders. This rehearsal was critical; there were things that they absolutely unequivocally must achieve that day. With quite a few of the cast and crew having attended Paula's party, Sharpay wasn't the only one looking a tad ill. Even those who had escaped without hang over were mostly feeling rather tired. And then there was the general concept of 'five hour rehearsal on Sunday' which wasn't working in their favour.

When Kelsi, Troy and Gabriella arrived, they found Ryan fussing about at a table by the stage; where he had the contents of a folder spilled out everywhere; submissions from the technical crew for lighting designs, sheet music, several copies of the script with various scribbles all over each one, drawings of costumes and backdrops.

"Hey Ryan," Gabriella called cheerfully.

Ryan glanced up, clearly harried. He hadn't even noticed them approaching.

"Oh hey you guys," he said distractedly, barely glancing up. Then suddenly Troy's appearance sunk in, and he did a double take. "What the hell happened to you?"

Not only was Troy's eye swollen, but there was a cut above his eyebrow and his hand was bandaged. He was also clutching at his side a little awkwardly.

"I… fell?" Troy said meekly.

Ryan snorted. "Sure."

"It's not a big deal," Troy insisted.

"He had a slight disagreement with Chad," Kelsi explained tactfully.

"A _slight_ disagreement?" Ryan repeated incredulously.

"Umm… long story," Troy said, not particularly wanting to delve into the details.

"Are you okay? What's with your hand?" Ryan said, gesturing to the quick bandaging job that Paula had done while Gabriella and Kelsi were gathering their belongings.

"I punched, he ducked, the wall was there…" Troy explained it as though the answer were obvious.

"Shit!"

"I think the worst is my ribs."

Troy had meant it to sound like a positive thing. If the worst was bruising on his ribs, then it meant it wasn't too bad. However for the doting Gabriella, she took this as a sign that he was admitting that he was in pain.

"Which he won't go and get X-rayed," Gabriella said, the look on her face demonstrating her disappointment.

"I think they're fine, it's probably just bruised. If it's worse tomorrow, I'll go get it checked out. Anyway, so I might not be great with all the dancing and stuff today," Troy told Ryan apologetically.

"This is great. So I've got a vomiting Esmeralda and an invalid Mike," Ryan remarked.

"Is Sharpay hung over?" Kelsi said sympathetically.

Ryan nodded, and gestured toward the conference room.

"She's in there, just sitting quietly. Ironically, I think this is perhaps the quietest I've ever seen Sharpay. Unfortunately that isn't really consistent with the spark necessary for five hours of rehearsal. If there was anyone I could have counted on to be on their game throughout a five hour Sunday rehearsal, it would have been Sharpay."

"You look stressed. What can I do to help?" Kelsi said smoothly. "I can't fix Troy or Sharpay but surely there's something else I can do."

"No, it's all organised. I'm just nervous is all. You try being in charge of a bunch of hung over and tired high school students who you have to ensure will be productive."

"Hey, the people that are here want to be here man, they care about this show," Troy pointed out. "You know your stuff, don't stress."

Ryan took a deep breath. "You're right."

"I know I am."

"Okay." Ryan glanced at his watch. "Just about time to begin."

He began to fiddle with the portable PA system he was using, being a portable speaker with a microphone attached, until the tech guys sorted out the sound. Meanwhile the other three headed to the seating area which had been set up, with enough seating for the cast, crew and teacher advisors set out in rows in front of the Lava Springs stage.

Ryan climbed the stairs, stood centre stage, and spoke into the microphone. "Okay guys, if everyone could grab a seat, we're going to get started today."

Everyone scurried from their groups they were chatting in to sit down.

"Welcome to our first full run through of _Once Upon A Time_ here at our stage at Lava Springs. The focus of today's rehearsal isn't going to be upon the technicalities of getting your songs and the dances perfect. Rather, today, we are going to be running through the show from beginning to end, to get used to performing within this environment. The focus will be on making sure that you know where the spacing will be on this stage, upon familiarising yourself with the backstage areas so that you will be able to make your cues. On Tuesday and Friday night, we're going to be back here again. We'll be running through the show continuously, stopping only to fix significant errors. We're going to get started officially in about a half hour. For the next 30 minutes, there will be a whole lot of technical stuff going on, getting the lighting and sound people set up, the band getting used to the pit. Meanwhile, we have the conference room to the left where we will be running a rehearsal of the finale group number that we finished choreographing this week, and we will also have the costume crew doing some fittings and measurements."

"Sharpay looks like she's gonna puke," Kelsi whispered to Gabriella.

Gabriella glanced over at where Kelsi was gesturing to the front row. Any other time when Ms Darbus wasn't present, Sharpay would be at the helm beside Ryan, pronouncing her leadership of the drama club as a mechanism to order people around. However that day, she was more than content to just sit and remain as still as quiet as possible. Moving and talking aggravated her headache and made her feel more than a little ill.

"I don't know how there's anything left to puke," Gabriella whispered.

"I know that some of us are a little under the weather today, and plus it is a Sunday and so we're really grateful that everyone was able to make it today. We've got coffee and tea and other refreshments available in the conference room and also backstage throughout the afternoon. There will be other food and small snacks brought out during periodic breaks throughout the afternoon. So now, let's get this show on the road! Crew to the stage, where you will be under the capable direction of our stage manager Theodore, and cast to the conference room with me."

Ryan didn't waste any time. He hustled the cast away from the refreshment table, and immediately put the teacher from the dance department in charge of the proceedings. The finale of the musical was a relatively showy, intricate piece with a _Hairspray_-esque vibe. They'd learnt the choreography for the routine in chunks, in separate groups of people who were performing different segments within the overall song. It was the first time putting the whole complicated number together.

The dance began with Lily and Nate dancing together; then Nina and Mike joined in. When Cameron and Esmeralda joined in, the first unwanted event of the day took place.

The dance teacher was watching Sharpay with a look of concern on her face. If she had looked pale before, she now looked positively green.

Thirty seconds into the dance, Sharpay abandoned her post and bolted, a hand covering her mouth as she barged past Troy and Gabriella, through the members of the chorus who were about to join in, and into the bathroom.

Everyone stopped dancing, and the dance teacher pressed pause on the practice backing tape, all eyes staring toward the bathroom door.

"Is she all right?" Miss Keller asked.

"Umm…. I hear there's a… umm… a stomach flu thing going around…" Troy stammered awkwardly.

"A stomach flu. Right," Miss Keller said, rolling her eyes.

"Why don't you all continue, and I'll go check on Sharpay," Kelsi said quickly, standing from her position.

Ryan smiled at Kelsi gratefully, wanting to get on with rehearsal efficiently but also caring about his sisters' wellbeing. "Thanks Kels."

* * *

Sharpay wound up missing the dance rehearsal completely, and wearily appeared from the bathroom just as they were finishing up and preparing to move toward the stage for the run through. She collapsed into a chair in the corner, staring blankly ahead with glazed eyes. A bottle with red liquid was suddenly being held in front of her face, and she looked up to see Troy standing looking at her.

"Drink this," he said kindly. "You need to rehydrate your body. Sports drinks, definitely a good technique."

"If I drink it I'll just puke it up."

"Maybe. Better to have something to puke than to dry retch."

Sharpay wrinkled her nose. "That's gross." She unscrewed the lid off the drink and took a tentative sip. "You look like crap."

Troy smiled. "You too." He turned to walk away.

"Troy?" Sharpay said.

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Thanks. For the drink."

"You're welcome."

* * *

As the final stages of stage set up for the run through took place, Ryan was sitting in the front row of the seating, clutching onto a script in each hand. One was his personal script, filled with stage directions and emotive comments and notes for Nate; the other was his directorial script for the whole cast. He was frantically glancing between the two, not sure which he should be paying more attention to. Right when he wanted a few minutes of solitude, of course, he heard his name being called as someone approached. Ryan gritted his teeth and glanced up, seeing Theodore.

"What?" Ryan said distractedly, looking back down at his scripts.

Theodore sat down on the seat beside him. "Ryan, I have a proposition for you."

"Yes?" Ryan said, non committedly.

"Let me take over today."

Ryan's head snapped up. "Repeat?" he said, eyebrows raised, in a tone that despite his masculine voice, eerily imitated Sharpay at her bitchiest.

"You're doing an awesome job, I'm not questioning your ability to run things. Rather, just let yourself spend a day worrying about your part. You do have a major role in the show itself. Today, my role is pretty minor. My team are all just getting a feel for things, we aren't doing a technical run through and so I'm rather redundant today. My day will be next Saturday. So for now, I'm just standing here and randomly querying various members of my team about how things are going. I know the theatre, and I know this show like the back of my hand. Let me help you."

"Theodore, on the contrary. As stage manager, your role today is critical. Today is your note taking day. You should have notes on every decision that is made about the performers today, so that you can prepare your crew about how they can work with us."

"Okay, okay, point taken. But… let me help you out, more so than I have been. I have my deputy stage manager who can take on most of my grunt work today."

Ryan eyed Theodore suspiciously. The truth was that Theodore was excellent at his job, his experience had shone through within his work so far. He was just an annoying twit. A person can be both annoying and effective at their job. Ryan relented, letting out a sigh.

"Okay. Good. That's… fine," Ryan said. "Thanks."

* * *

Ryan called the cast together to the stage, outlined Theodore's role – receiving some exasperated looks at the announcement.

"Sharpay and Troy will both be marking the dances today, just so we all know. Excellent," Ryan made this comment in a casual rush, not wanting to allow either of them to protest. "Well we've just got a slight delay, just waiting on the tech guys to clear some stuff away, and then we'll get started."

They all dispersed, except for Troy, Sharpay and Gabriella. Ryan should have known better than to think that he could stop either of the pair from protesting.

"Ryan, I think you're being a tad melodramatic with making me mark the dances," Sharpay said wearily.

Ryan smiled wryly, loving the irony of his sister accusing someone of being melodramatic. "Sharpay, just accept the fact that you're hung over. I'm impressed that you're standing upright and not just asleep. Besides, we'll need someone to keep our invalid company."

"Dude about that," Troy spoke up. "I'm also fine. I mean, I might not be able to dance well but…"

Ryan marched over to Troy and poked him in the ribs – eliciting a drawn out groan.

"Dude!" Troy gasped, grabbing at his side. "That wasn't cool at all!"

"Stop pretending that you're fine. I appreciate your dedication and being here. That's fine, I'm not going to insist that you rush off to the hospital. _But_ I don't want you to do anything that might aggravate that. What if something is broken, huh?"

"Nothing is broken," Troy protested.

"Probably not but it _could_ be broken."

"Broken, what's broken?" a loud, booming voice said from behind.

Sharpay's eyes widened, and she spun around. "Daddy!" she exclaimed, attempting to sound as perky and like herself as possible.

"Princess, what's up with you? You don't look well at all," Vance Evans said, pressing his hand to his daughter's forehead, checking her temperature.

"I'm fine daddy," Sharpay insisted. "Just umm… a bit of a flu is coming on maybe."

"There is this stomach thing going around at school at the moment," Troy supplied.

Vance turned to Troy. "Well, well, well. Look at you. That's a nasty bruise, have you been icing it? What happened?"

"Yes sir, I have been icing it and… umm… would you buy that I fell down a staircase?"

Vance laughed loudly. "Boys will be boys, I won't pass judgement on you." Vance turned to Ryan momentarily, and quickly adjusted the hat on his head to sit straighter. "Much better." He then turned back to Troy. "Better keep your distance from my Princess if she's sick then son, you don't want to get sick in the middle of your basketball season."

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Troy said with a confident smile.

"Anyway, I have to be off. I'll come back around your break time to see how you're feeling Princess," Vance Evans said, looking at his daughter.

Sharpay watched guiltily as her none the wiser father walked away.

"Thanks Troy for covering my ass," Troy supplied.

"It's not like I needed you to cover for me," Sharpay said haughtily.

Troy rolled his eyes at Ryan and Gabriella.

"But umm… thanks," Sharpay added hesitantly.

Troy grinned at her. "Hey, no worries. Since your dad is technically my boss, I wouldn't want him knowing you got drunk at a party I was at. He'd find a way to blame me I bet."

Troy winced a little as he moved.

"Your ribs hurting?" Gabriella asked softly.

"Umm… a little," Troy admitted.

"Let's go get some ice before we start back, both for your ribs and your eye. If you ice it when you're not on stage, it'll be better than just waiting until tonight," Gabriella suggested.

Sharpay's eyes were narrowed a little as she watched Troy and Gabriella walk away, her arm around his waist.

"Shar?" Ryan said, waving his hand in front of her face. "You okay?"

Sharpay gave him a tight smile. "Fabulous."

* * *

After a gruelling first half of the rehearsal, break time could not have come sooner. The rehearsal wasn't running badly but it also wasn't running brilliantly. It was evident that there was a _lot_ more work to be done. Ryan was confident that it would come together – at least, he was presenting the outward confidence that everything would be fine. He claimed that because of the nature of how they had rehearsed, the biggest problem was going to be putting it all together in one flowing show, rather than making it appear like a series of disjoined scenes.

Martha, Gabriella, Kelsi, Troy and Ryan were sitting at one of the tables, sampling food from the buffet Mr Evans had sponsored.

"I cannot believe how much fun I am having," Martha exclaimed, a sparkle in her eye. "I should have become involved in the musical years ago."

"It'll be even better this upcoming week," Gabriella enthused. "When we just run through it in one flowing take, it'll just all come together and it will make sense, what all the work we've been doing has been towards."

"It'll also be better when half the cast aren't hung over or… injured," Ryan remarked.

"Half the cast is a tad exaggeration," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"Everyone seems to be perking up more now that they have had access to all the caffeine," Gabriella pointed out with a smile, trying to keep focus upon the positives. "And maybe Sharpay's power nap will help her to feel better."

"Hopefully," Ryan said.

"I think it's going really well. Every other musical at about this time within preparation, it's been at about this level," Kelsi pointed out. "Gabriella's right, it will likely all come together a whole lot better in the upcoming week."

Martha excused herself from the group to head to the bathroom. Almost immediately, Troy spotted Vance Evans sauntering by the rehearsal area.

"I'm just gonna go talk to Mr Evans, I'll be back," Troy said, carefully sitting up and standing up, not wanting to aggravate his bruises.

"Okay now that he's gone you have to tell me about this guy you met online," Gabriella said in a hushed voice, grabbing onto Ryan's arm.

"What?!" Ryan hissed, turning to glare at Kelsi.

"I'm sorry, but Gabriella asked me this morning if I ever managed to see your phone and since she already knew that I knew and you knew that she knew that I knew… it made little sense to not tell her that you now know that I know," Kelsi babbled.

"You would have told me about him anyway… wouldn't you?" Gabriella asked hesitantly.

"I don't know if there is anything _to_ tell. But yes, if there was, I would have. It's more that I don't like the idea of people gossipping about me behind my back."

"Oh please, you gossip about everyone else," Gabriella pointed out with a wry smile. "It's what we do. At least you know rather precisely that it's only me and Kelsi who know and therefore it can only be us talking about you."

Ryan rolled his eyes, thinking wryly to himself, _and Chad._ Except he hadn't told Gabriella that he'd told Chad.

All in all, it was one very complicated tangle of who knows what and why about who.

"So tell us about him," Gabriella insisted. "Before Martha and Troy come back."

Ryan sighed. "His name is Chase. He lives in Las Cruces, he is a freshman at New Mexico State. And we're just… chatting. We chat on AIM and we text and we e-mail. That's all."

"Do you know what he looks like?" Kelsi asked.

Ryan paused, before pulling out his iPhone and flicking through until he located the photograph he had been sent via picture message. Both of the girls instantly let out an _awww_ upon seeing it. Ryan was more than a tad amused.

"You both are seeing people. You shouldn't be reacting to photos of other guys like that. Especially not gay guys."

"I have eyes, don't I?" Gabriella remarked.

"Yes you do. And you… you think he's cute?" Ryan said, a little self consciously.

"Absolutely," Kelsi said with a definitive nod.

"I think it's just really cool that you're talking to him. I mean… whether something happens or not. It's good that you're talking to other guys who are going through or have been through similar experiences," Gabriella said.

"Sssshh Troy's coming," Ryan hissed, hushing them.

"I keep having trouble keeping up with the middle section of the finale dance," Gabriella said. "I have a feeling I might need another one on one lesson for that one."

"We only just finished choreographing it, don't be too hard on yourself," Ryan said, as Troy slid back into his seat.

"That looked a little intense," Kelsi remarked to Troy.

"Oh, we were just talking about future job prospects. I have the next two weeks off for this, then I have one week back and that's the final class of the golf program for this year. But then he said there's going to be a lot of extra kitchen and service work going on over the holiday period with Christmas parties and stuff, he said to mention it to all of you guys if you want to make some extra moolah over the holidays."

"Is the golf programme running again after winter break?" Gabriella asked.

"He thinks so, but I don't know if I'll be available. If I get picked for the state team again…"

"_When_ you get picked," Gabriella corrected him with a sly smile.

"_IF_ I get picked," Troy repeated, "then I'll have all the weekend training camps and so I probably won't be available. Plus… there's the whole going away to check out some of the colleges that are interested in recruiting me. So I'd like to keep myself available for that. But Mr Evans suggested that he could get Fulton to change the golf classes one day after school. Anyway, it's all up in the air at the moment."

"He wants to get Fulton to change the classes to suit your schedule? Rather than just hiring someone else?" Kelsi repeated. "That's pretty awesome, obviously he likes you."

"I think it's got a lot to do with that U of A want me," Troy said honestly.

"No, my dad likes you as well," Ryan said, a twinge of envy in his tone. A twinge which was lost on Troy, but which Gabriella picked up on. She glanced sideways at Ryan.

Troy shrugged. "Maybe. He's not a bad person to have on your side. Influential. And the other employees tell me he gives a sweet Christmas bonus."

* * *

"Oh Esmeralda, I don't know what to do," Gabriella said despondently.

"I think you should stop your whinging and just pick one of them already," Sharpay exclaimed, clearly frustrated.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Nate is clearly desperate to get your attention, so perhaps he is the ideal man for you," Sharpay suggested.

"And you have no interest in the matter at all, do you," Gabriella remarked.

"I haven't a clue what you're…" Sharpay trailed off, breaking character. Sharpay's power nap had certainly helped her to feel slightly better – but with a lack of sleep and her slight headache, she was finding herself easily aggravated, and more than willing to speak exactly what was on her mind. She put her hands on her hips, and glared at Theodore who was standing just in front of the stage watching.

"_Why_ did you stop?" Ryan asked, aghast.

"Well, Mister Director, I think you should request that the stage manager stops staring at Gabriella's breasts!"

Gabriella's arms immediately folded across her chest, her mouth dropping open in shock and embarrassment.

Theodore turned bright red, his eyes wide. "Well I... I… I most certainly was _not_…"

"Oh please you were too. There is only one person here who has the right to be staring at her breasts and that's Troy. And maybe the people from the costume department, who I think need to alter this dress she's wearing. I suppose you can hardly blame Theodore for staring, her breasts are practically popping out."

Veronica, the head of the costume department, stood up indignantly. "In my defense, I SAID that the dress wasn't ready yet but Ryan insisted upon every costume that is wearable being trialled today."

"Let's move on," Miss Keller said, stepping forward with her teacher authority to get things under control. "We do have a schedule to stick to."

"Gabriella, let's take it from your last line," Ryan instructed. "And you have no…"

They waited expectantly for Gabriella to begin, but her arms were still folded across her chest. Troy, in his position from side stage, sighed in exasperation.

"Here," he said, shrugging his hoodie off and handing it to her. "Wear that until your costume change." He glanced suspiciously at Theodore, sending him a mental note of _keep your eyes up, buddy._

"Are we good to go now?" Ryan asked impatiently.

Gabriella nodded, zipping the hoodie up as far as it would go. "Ready."

* * *

The final break of the day took place around 3:45, with 15 minutes designated to chill and relax. Gabriella was quick to retrieve fresh icepacks for Troy. Ryan approached where the pair were sitting at the back of the seating area.

"Hey Gabriella…. Do you umm… would you mind if I could talk to Troy for a minute?" Ryan said, a little tentatively.

"Umm… Sure," Gabriella said, glancing between the two guys. "I have to go talk to Kelsi anyway."

"What's up man?" Troy said with concern as Gabriella slunk away. "Is this about me getting lost in that last bit of the dance? Because, in my defence, I'm not exactly feeling my best today and also I wasn't there when it was originally choreographed and so…"

"It's not about that. Although, you were a bit lost. I'll work on it with you later if you like?"

"That'd be great."

"No, this is about…" Ryan paused and took a breath. "It's about Sharpay. And… you."

"Sharpay and me? There is no Sharpay and me," Troy said firmly. The hand clutching the ice pack to his eye lowered.

"Keep it iced," Ryan reprimanded, before adding reassuringly. "I know that. I know that there's nothing with the two of you. I just…" he sighed. "Aahhh… okay. Here's the thing. The thing….. the thing is that… well you see, the thing is…"

"Ryan?" Troy prompted.

Ryan took a deep breath. "Sharpay likes you. You… you get that, right?"

Troy shifted, feeling more than a little uncomfortable, and not only because of his bruised ribs. "Umm…" he cleared his throat. "Well…"

"Can I… okay. I'm talking to you right now as Sharpay's brother. She… I know that she comes across as though maybe she's a bit cold but… she's not. She's… there's a lot going on that people don't get."

"Ryan, are you trying to sell the idea of going out with her to me?" Troy asked dubiously.

"No!" Ryan exclaimed.

"Good. Coz… I'm kinda into Gabriella… well more than kinda. But even if I wasn't, it just wouldn't happen with me and Sharpay."

"That's exactly why I'm talking to you. Because… because I know that. And you know that. But… Sharpay doesn't."

Troy exhaled. "What more do you want me to say to her, man? She and I, we've _talked_ about this. I don't exactly enjoy having to tell girls that I'm not interested over and over and over."

"When have you told her? Break it down for me."

"Well to start with, way back when this all began over summer!" Troy exclaimed. "I told her very explicitly that I had a thing with Gabriella. And since then we've talked about it. I mean, not _directly_ but the implication was there. She asked if it would have been different if it wasn't for Gabriella and I told her no."

Ryan exhaled. "Okay. Well somehow, Sharpay has heard something different. Girls are different, Troy, you should have learnt that by now. They take the littlest things that you've said and transform it into being evidence that you want more. You need to be straight with her because… it's only gonna get worse."

"Worse?'

"Why do you think she went and got wasted last night?"

Troy threw his hands in the air. "Coz she's seventeen? Because it's normal to get wasted at a party?"

"For you maybe that's normal, but not for Sharpay."

Troy was speechless. He'd had the inkling that Sharpay had a bit of a crush on him, but Ryan was making it sound like a whole lot more than just a crush.

"Sorry to freak you out," Ryan said, reading Troy's bewildered expression. "But… I just thought maybe you should know."

"It's okay," Troy said, his annoyed tone suggesting that it wasn't okay. He took a deep breath. "Guess it's better that I know. Although I'm still not entirely sure why I should have to do anything about it. Not to sound conceited, but it's not the first time I've had a girl interested in me when I haven't had interest back."

"Because Sharpay is different. Because… because given summer and you and Gabriella breaking up, that maybe you need to be aware of the affect of other girls liking you," Ryan pointed out.

"We didn't break up because of Sharpay," Troy said.

"No… but it was the catalyst, wasn't it?"

"Gabriella and I are past all of that."

Ryan sighed. "Look, you can take what I've said or leave it. But just… at least be aware, okay?"

* * *

Troy wearily trudged into his house after the day from hell. The fight from Chad, the day of rehearsal hell, and then Ryan putting pressure on him to 'deal' with Sharpay was just the perfect way to top up a perfectly stressful day.

With the day topped off with an evening onslaught on the home front.

Troy went straight into the kitchen, not even acknowledging his parents who were both in the living area just by the kitchen watching the early evening news. He pulled open the freezer in search of an icepack.

"Hi sweetie, how was rehearsal?" Lucille called.

"Okay," Troy responded shortly.

"What are you looking for? Dinner isn't far away so don't ruin your appetite."

"I'm looking for an icepack."

This was enough to tear Jack Bolton's eyes from the sports report that was currently on.

"What?!" he exclaimed.

Troy turned around grimly, his black eye and the abrasions evident for his parents to see.

"Troy!" Lucille gasped, jumping to her feet and traversing across the room. "What happened?"

"I fell?" Troy suggested meekly.

"Did you win?" Jack asked.

"Jack!" Lucille admonished.

Jack's expression became firm. "I mean… this is unacceptable. Violence doesn't solve anything."

"No, but it made me feel better. So do we have icepacks?"

"Why plural, why icepacks?" Lucille asked, fishing through the packed freezer.

"My ribs are also bruised."

Jack was once again concerned. "Only bruised?"

"I think so. Gabriella wanted me to go get an X-ray but I said I'd see how it feels in the morning. I'm pretty sure it's only bruised."

Lucille located one icepack, but couldn't find a second one. "It'll have to be peas for the second one."

Troy nodded, and grabbed a couple of dish towels to wrap them in.

"So what really happened?" Jack persisted.

"I'd rather not talk about it. It wasn't a big deal. It was stupid, I know that. I'm just gonna go up to my room."

"What happened with your hand?" Lucille prodded.

"Umm… my hand… he ducked… into a wall. It's all good, Paula dressed it, she's good with this stuff."

"Let me look at it," Lucille requested.

"Mom, really it's all good."

"Humour me Troy."

* * *

As much as Troy didn't want to admit it, Paula's words of advice about needing to deal with Chad had resonated with him. They didn't need to like each other. They didn't need to be getting along, laughing, joking, talking. But they needed to be able to work together. As captain of his team, he knew he had to set a good example.

On Monday morning, he and Gabriella arrived at the fountain meeting place. Troy spotted Chad talking with Xavier and Pablo, and his grip around Gabriella's waist tightened. Gabriella looked up, following Troy's intent stare.

"Go on. Talk to him," Gabriella urged.

He had to be the bigger man.

Troy dropped his arm from Gabriella's waist and gave her a tight smile. He gave a small wave to the rest of their group as he passed them and kept walking the few paces away where Chad was conversing with the other guys from their team.

"-no really man, I'm telling you, it really happened!" Chad exclaimed.

"Danforth," Troy said evenly.

Chad didn't even pause, he just kept talking. "It was in our sophomore year at the Spring Fling."

"Danforth," Troy said again, his tone slightly more agitated.

Chad moved so that he was standing directly in front of Troy, blocking him from view entirely. The other guys in the team glanced at one another awkwardly, but didn't intervene.

"That was a great dance. I hooked up with Liana, but then again, who hasn't?" Chad remarked.

"Oh fuck you," Troy snarled, and walked away.

Only after Troy had walked away, did Chad turn around and watch after him as he stormed off. Chad turned in the opposite direction and stalked away, not even acknowledging the guys.

Meanwhile just a few feet away, the remainder of the Wildcats had observed Troy's failed attempt to engage with Chad, and watched as Chad turned and watched after him.

"Maybe… someone should talk to him," Ryan suggested, hopping off the edge of the fountain.

"Wait," Taylor said, a little timidly. "Can… Can I?"

"Are you just gonna go yell at him?" Ryan asked.

Taylor took a moment to glare at Ryan, before picking up the handle of her wheely bag and trotted after Chad, pulling her bag behind her. It was at the side entrance into the main building where Taylor finally caught up with him.

"Chad?" she called, somewhat tentatively.

Chad paused, and turned around to look at her. It was Taylor's first good glimpse of the bruising around the bridge of Chad's nose, and along his jawline.

"What, are you running after me to rag on me coz Taylor, I deserve it but…"

"No. No I'm not."

Chad looked at her, surprised. "Why not?"

"Well… if you're referring to ragging on you about the fight… I wasn't there for that. I… it's none of my business. And yeah I was told about it but you both know that the fight had nothing to do with what happened…" Taylor swallowed. "With what Troy and I saw. It was about shit going on between the two of you. And if you're referring to ragging on you about what we saw well… I won't lie and tell you that it didn't upset me but, I really don't have the right to be angry about it."

Chad was surprised, and nodded gratefully. "Umm… thanks. I guess. But if you wanted to yell at me…"

"You know, right before I walked into that garage, I'd been telling Troy that I really wanted to talk to you. To… to try to work out… what happened. Where it went wrong," Taylor told him tentatively.

"Where it went wrong?" Chad couldn't help but laugh bitterly. "Where didn't it go wrong might be the easier issue to address."

"It wasn't always that bad," Taylor protested. "It just… went bad. I don't even get why."

"It's my fault," Chad said resolutely.

"What do you mean, it's your fault? It takes two people to make a relationship work."

"Yeah, and you were trying to make it work and I… wasn't. And so you ended it. I don't blame you. If I were you, I would have dumped my ass a whole lot sooner."

Taylor couldn't help but laugh a little. "Well… I guess I thought it was worth fighting for."

"Taylor? About… about our argument at the party…"

"Chad, let's just leave it, I…"

"No, I… I have to say something. I just wanna say… that you were wrong about one thing."

"Oh yeah? And what was that?"

"You were wrong when you said that I couldn't be bothered to fight, that it wasn't worth fighting for," Chad said. "I get that it might have seemed that was how I felt but… it really isn't. It's… it's just really complicated."

"What is complicated?" Taylor asked softly.

"Everything. You, me, us. Life. Life is just one big fucking complicated mess at the moment. It's just fucked."

"How is life fucked?" Taylor prodded.

Chad swallowed. "Umm… it…"

The warning bell for homeroom rang, and Chad cleared his throat and gestured toward the door. "Come on, we have to go to class," he said quietly.

"I don't care about class," Taylor said resolutely. "I want you to talk to me about this."

Chad hesitated. "Come on. We have to go in."

And with that, Chad took the lead toward class. Taylor trailed behind him the whole way, with the pair slipping in just seconds before the final bell. He was about to head resolutely toward his desk when his motion was disrupted.

"Mr Danforth," Ms Darbus said. "Principal Matsui requires you in his office."

Chad stared back at her. "Why?"

"My knowledge on the matter is limited to this note," Ms Darbus said primly, holding up a piece of paper. "Which says, Chad Danforth to Principal Matsui's office immediately. Now hurry along."

* * *

When Chad arrived at Principal Matsui's office and reported to the receptionist, he was ushered straight in. Also present in the office was Miss Jacobs – Chad's math teacher – as well as Jack Bolton. Jack was staring at the wall, not making eye contact with Chad.

"What's going on?" Chad asked, glancing dubiously around.

Principal Matsui sighed. "Chad, take a seat."

Chad hesitated before sitting down in the seat the Matsui was motioning to him.

"Chad, do you recall signing this in one of your first basketball training sessions this year," Principal Matsui asked, pushing a sheet of paper toward Chad.

Chad scanned over the sheet of paper. "Umm yeah, we sign these every year. About maintaining a C average to play."

"And do you recall Coach Bolton emphasising that this policy was to be strictly enforced this year?"

Chad glanced over to Miss Jacobs, a sinking feeling in his stomach. "What's going on?"

Miss Jacobs pulled out a sheet of paper from her folder. "Chad, this is your exam paper from Friday."

Chad warily accepted the outstretched sheet. He winced at the figure at the top. "So uh, you're creating a 'G' grade just for me, huh?"

"This isn't something to make jokes about, Chad," Principal Matsui said firmly.

"Uh… I know that. I'm sorry sir, your Excellency," Chad said.

"The SATs are a month away and… frankly, with performance like this, I barely even see the point in you taking them," Principal Matsui said with a sigh.

"Chad… what went wrong here, honey?" Miss Jacobs asked sympathetically. "Is something going on that we don't know about? Because… I know that math hasn't been your strongest point but… this grade is really… it's very… it's just not very good at all."

"No. No it's not," Chad said, staring at red cross after red cross after red cross on the sheet of paper in front of him.

"Administration had a meeting before school today and we are in agreement about the following decision," Principal Matsui said.

"Decision?" Chad echoed.

"We are temporarily removing your rights to participate in extra curricular activities."

"You mean…"

"For this week, you are not allowed to represent East High on the Varsity basketball team," Principal Matsui said firmly.

"What?!" Chad exclaimed. "You must be joking."

"We have scheduled another exam for you, to take place next Monday lunch time. If you can prove that you are coping with this material and achieve at least 80 percent, your extra curricular privileges will be reinstated."

Chad's jaw was open slightly, completely speechless.

"You are not allowed to attend training sessions," Matsui continued. "With the exception of your physical education class, your rights to access the gym and other facilities in the physical education department have also been revoked this week."

Silence filled the air momentarily.

"Chad, do you understand?" Principal Matsui asked.

"Yes… yes sir," Chad said in a daze.

"Chad, let me work with you to help you with this material. You're a bright kid, I know that you can learn this stuff," Miss Jacobs implored him.

Chad didn't say anything, he just sat staring at the offensive test paper in front of him.

Principal Matsui sighed. "I'm sorry son, but you were made well aware of the consequences of not maintaining your grades. With any luck you'll be able to ace the make up test next week."

Chad merely nodded.

"Okay. First period is about to begin. You can go."

Coach Bolton was fuming, he stormed out the office. Chad looked up, and went after him.

"Coach…" Chad called after him.

"Go to class Chad," Jack said firmly, not even turning around.

"But Coach…"

"You don't want to get in trouble for being late to first period. Go." Chad exhaled. "And Chad? It's up to you to tell your team mates. But do it on your own time. If you come any where near the gym, you'll be suspended for longer."

* * *

At lunch time, Chad approached the cafeteria with a feeling of impending doom in his stomach. Head held high, he walked straight over to their table where the whole gang had already arrived. He'd managed to avoid speaking with anyone in depth that morning. Ryan gave him a small wave.

"Hi Chad," Jason said, a little tentatively.

"Bolton," Chad said.

Troy made a grand gesture of turning to Kelsi. "So what was it that you were telling me about rehearsal?"

"Bolton, I need to talk to you man," Chad said.

Troy cleared his throat and turned around. "I'm sorry, I am busy at the moment."

"Seriously man, I need to talk to you."

"Fuck off Chad."

"I failed an exam on Friday and the school has banned me from playing this week," Chad said loudly, raising his voice.

The whole table, as well as a few nearby tables, fell silent.

"There is a make up test next Monday and if I do well in that, they'll let me play again," Chad continued.

Troy took a deep breath, and counted to three under his breath before standing up and turning around.

"What?!" Troy exclaimed. "How the fuck could you let this happen? Coach has been riding us all year about how serious the vice principal was about cracking down on that rule."

"What do you mean how could I _let_ it happen?" Chad shot back. "It's not like I went into the exam and thought, gee, I just can't be bothered to answer these questions right."

"How much did you fail by?" Gabriella asked quietly. "Maybe you can ask to get it remarked or…"

"Um, unless they've changed the way they do the math itself, that's not gonna change anything."

"How could you be so fucking irresponsible? Especially when we're playing St. Joseph's this week, they have a fucking scary line up this year. And then next week when I'm not playing?"

"I said it was only for this week so cool your jets," Chad snapped.

"You know what, I think I preferred it when I was ignoring you," Troy retorted.

"That works just fine for me," Chad shot back.

Chad stormed away, and he didn't look back.

* * *


	44. Chapter 43

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies. I also have no affiliation with the Jonas Brothers, if I did then I would hook Nick up with someone who I know likes him, increasing the odds of me obtaining Zac by... well, in the larger scheme of things, not so much.

**Author's Note: **So this update is coming to you about a half a day later than the updates I've been doing almost like clockwork lately – I hope no one was sitting around drumming their fingers waiting. Not only have I been crazy busy in a crappy new job that I hate (not the one I referred to with the interview that I had, a different interview I had after that one) and am I trying to find an alternative job; but I had a lot of problems with this chapter. The result has been a whole new chapter being inserted between this and what was to be the next; and a whole lot of reshuffling and stuff. Anywho, so thanks to _emptrajan_ for the preview and subsequent feedback which caused a lot of this reshuffling. Hopefully it works better, I think it does anyway. And depending on how quickly I get the brand new next chapter done, there might be updates for a couple of days in a row over the weekend to try to make sure I reach my HSM3 US release date deadline. It's looking dicey to be honest; I might have to do a few other sets of daily updates. We shall see. :-)

* * *

**Chapter 43**

The Wildcats were completely silent for almost a minute after Chad stormed away. They were attempting to maintain a guise that all eyes were _not_ on Troy – with eyes darting around the room. However every few moments, each set of eyes would consistently sneak a look back at him. Meanwhile Troy, with an air of composure, took his seat once again and continued reading the script which lay in front of him. He picked up his fork and violently stabbed at a piece of shrivelled roast potato. He barely grazed the edge, and the piece of food went flying off his tray, landing among Taylor's fries. Troy pushed his tray away sulkily, in a silent decision that he wasn't in the slightest bit hungry.

Gabriella meanwhile made her own silent decision that she simply had to intervene. The look within Troy's eyes told her that he was on the edge of tipping over, all it would take would be one person to say the wrong thing and they may very well be at the receiving end of a tirade of verbal abuse.

"Come on," she prompted, standing up. "I have to go to my locker and you are coming with me."

Troy raised his eyebrows, he could sense the stubbornness within her tone and he knew exactly why it was that she was taking him away from everyone. "Is this one of those things where I shouldn't even bother putting up a fight?"

Gabriella nodded firmly, and so Troy simply grabbed his milk carton and allowed her to lead him out of the cafeteria. It was evident upon leaving – when Gabriella turned right instead of left – that they were not going to her locker as she had suggested.

"So you kidnap me against my will, and you're not even going to your locker?" Troy remarked.

"Hardly a kidnap, nor against your will," Gabriella pointed out. "Now come on."

"Where are we going?"

Troy's tone was border lining upon whinging child, and Gabriella's response was border lining upon the world's most patient caregiver.

"Just wait and see."

Troy was scuffing his converse along the ground, not even taking note of where she was leading him. It was only when she stopped, turned, opened a door and began to traverse up a set of stairs that the obvious hit him.

"Gabriella…" Troy began to say.

"Ssshhh," she hushed him, and took him by the hand and led him up the stairs. Troy trudged behind her and waited until they were seated at the bench to speak.

"Gabriella, why are we up here?" Troy asked. "I get that you seem to think that we can sit up here in this garden and I'll talk about anything but… I really don't want to talk about this."

"I know you don't," Gabriella said smoothly. "I didn't bring you up here because I think you need to talk about it."

Troy stared at her, slightly confused. "Huh?"

Gabriella sighed. "Troy… don't take this the wrong way, but I think you were out of line back there, however…"

"Oh, so you've brought me up here so you can rag on me in private!" Troy cut in defensively.

"No!" Gabriella said, rolling her eyes. "If you would let me finish. I think you were out of line back there however I'm not going to judge you for that. My brain can't even begin to try to understand the intricacies of whatever on earth is going on between you two guys."

"Then why are we here?"

"Because I kinda thought you might have wanted to escape but didn't want anyone to realise that you wanted to escape but since everyone was looking at you…"

"Okay great. So now, can I just sit here and sulk?"

"You can sulk," Gabriella conceded, but then an alternative idea hit her. "Or… or, you could try to make the best of a shitty situation and perk up?"

"I'm not in a particularly 'perky' place, sorry," Troy said darkly.

"I realise that, but we can always change that."

"Oh, we can, can we?" Troy's tone was sceptical and condescending.

"We could… make out?" Gabriella suggested coyly.

Troy's interest was piqued. "Excuse me?" he repeated, slightly bewildered and questioning whether he had actually heard her correctly.

Gabriella smirked at his reaction. They could be facing impending bloody death and she suspected her horny boyfriend would find the option of making out to be ideal.

"Look. I have to spend the next couple of hours with you rehearsing, and given that Darbus wasn't there yesterday I can bet you that she is going to be as crazy as ever in wanting us to get every last detail perfect. Then after drama, you have to go to training and be the team leader. You can't be in a bad mood. You have to be confident that your team can solider on with or without Chad. And I understand that talking about it isn't going to solve anything because it's just something that has happened in really bad timing, aggravating a pre-existing issue. So yes, you could sit here and sulk and just sink further into a bad mood. Or I could tell you all about why you crossed the line but then we would just wind up fighting because ultimately, only you are in your head here. All that needs to be put on hold until when you leave training tonight. The next few hours, you need to lift. And all that I have to offer you within the confines of school grounds to cheer you up is making out. Take it or leave it."

Troy was staring at Gabriella with a bewildered expression on his face.

"What?" Gabriella asked dubiously, suddenly questioning whether the idea that had so spontaneously popped into her brain was completely ridiculous. It had sounded a lot more valid in her brain than when she had voiced it out loud.

"It's official. I have the coolest girlfriend EVER."

* * *

After a steamy make out session – which inevitably created a new set of tension – a relatively productive rehearsal and final period drama class – the day finally came to an end. After emerging into the hallway, Ryan immediately dragged Gabriella away from Troy in the midst of a '_good luck, don't worry practice will still be fantastic' _kiss.

"Come on, you'll be late for your tutoring lesson," Ryan said insistently.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "It doesn't start for a half hour. I could walk there from here, except that you have insisted upon driving me."

"Whatever. Let him go to practice. Good bye all."

Gabriella was mystified by Ryan's strange behaviour. However the moment they were in the privacy of the confines of his car, the explanation was to come out. He turned to his friend with a look of serious contemplation upon his face.

"Gabriella… if someone knows something about someone which they aren't supposed to tell anyone…. But telling someone would be beneficial to helping someone… do you think that that someone should tell someone?" Ryan asked thoughtfully.

Gabriella blinked. "Why don't you just tell me in confidence, because clearly you're dying to tell someone about… whatever it is that you're talking about."

"Technically I guess he never told me I can't tell you," Ryan mused, attempting to justify his actions to himself. "Technically he said _'you're not gonna tell Taylor or Troy, are you'_ I mean technically he was implying to keep it a secret from everyone but…"

"Is this about Chad?" Gabriella said slowly.

Ryan nodded sheepishly. "Yeah."

"Tell me," Gabriella said firmly.

Ryan sighed. "His family is kinda… having some financial trouble. Since David left. When his mom and David decided to move in together, they moved into that house and the rent was more than it used to be and they were barely making ends meet even together. And then he left and they were behind in the rent and all these bills were due and stuff. So Chad's mom has been working two full time jobs, her regular one at the travel agent plus doing this crappy waitressing job where she works a billion hours. So Chad's been doing all this stuff to help them out around the house, you know, he's been doing all the cooking and cleaning and grocery shopping. And looking after Jayme and driving her around. And he's been doing an extra shift at the supermarket to help pay for stuff."

As Ryan spoke, the pennies began to drop. Not only the pennies, but also the dimes and nickels and quarters and old school dollar coins. Gabriella had never really known the details of the home situation at Chad's, but now that it was all being explained, it made perfect sense. Of course David had paid for his share of expenses. And Gabriella had known that Chad hadn't always lived in that house, that they'd moved there with David. The dropping coins were leading to dawning realisations about the entire situation.

"And that's why he was being weird around Taylor," Gabriella said slowly.

"Uh huh."

"And why he got angry at Troy."

"Uh huh."

"And why he failed the math exam."

Ryan nodded. "I've known for a couple of weeks but even I didn't get that it had gotten this out of hand. But when I try to talk to him about it he just blows me off, says that it's all under control. But obviously it's not."

"Why is he doing all that stuff? Is his mom asking him to do it?" Gabriella asked incredulously. She was no stranger to dealing with a parent who suddenly wasn't being the parent, dealing with her mom during the grieving process following the passing of Gabriella's father. But they'd had extended family around stepping up to play the role of parent.

"I don't think so. I think he just feels like he needs to 'be the man' and stuff."

"That's so… no one our age should have to deal with all that stuff! Especially not when it's costing him his whole life, when it's making his friends doubt him and… and…"

"You're gonna do something, aren't you?" Ryan said warily, sending the determination within Gabriella's tone.

"Isn't that what you want me to do? Isn't that why you told me? Surely you knew that I wasn't just going to take this and leave it be."

Ryan sighed. "I guess. Maybe. But… can you do it without letting him know that I told you?" he asked hopefully.

"I can try," was the most placating answer Gabriella could muster.

* * *

Meanwhile, as Ryan and Gabriella were discussing Chad; Troy was in the locker room doing everything within his power to _not_ think about Chad. He passed father's office on his way through the hallway, heading in to change for training.

"Troy," Jack Bolton called

Troy took a step backwards and poked his head in. "Yo?" Jack raised his eyebrows. "I mean, yes coach?"

"Come in here a minute. Close the door."

Troy followed instruction and took a seat in front of his father.

"Is this about Chad?" Troy said darkly.

"No, although we will have to discuss that with the team. I also found it interesting seeing him this morning with bruises all over his face, but that is something to discuss at home," Jack said pointedly. Troy winced, and merely nodded. "Actually, I wanted to show you this."Jack had printed an e-mail he had received, and slid the sheet of paper across the desk. "Good timing for me getting this today, given with the terrible start to the morning."

Troy was scanning the e-mail. "Butler want me?" he repeated incredulously.

"I realise that Indianapolis might not be your ideal city of choice but…"

"But Butler are freaking incredible!" Troy finished the sentence. "This seems… fairly serious."

"Well, when they're inviting you to come along to a training session, with the school picking up all associated expenses – yeah, I'd say they're pretty damn serious."

"This is… wow… pretty damn cool," Troy said, shaking his head a little in bewilderment.

"You recall that Coach Lang is coming on Wednesday?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah. Great timing, with Chad out," he said sarcastically.

"If anything it'll force you to step up your game and show off more," Jack pointed out. "How are your ribs?"

"A bit sore but it's definitely only bruising," Troy said decisively – and also with relief. He'd put up the front all day Sunday that he was _fine_ but he couldn't help but be terrified in the back of his brain that he really had done some serious damage and broken something. Or rather, that _Chad_ had done some serious damage and broken something.

"Good. I also had a call from Mr Evans today."

"Oh?"

"Coach Vernon from the Redhawks is planning to come along with a recruitment rep on Friday afternoon."

Jack couldn't hide the twinge of excited anticipation within his tone. The official offer from the Redhawks was more or less in the bag, but until it was made it couldn't be counted upon.

Troy nodded, and responded casually. "Interesting."

"You don't seem impressed," Jack said, narrowing his eyes.

Troy forced a smile. "I should be grateful, shouldn't I? These are really great schools showing interest. I bet Coach Lang is going to keep subtly pushing New Mexico State at me. He pretends that he isn't still affiliated with them but he kept going on about them last year at states."

"But?" Jack prodded.

"I just… in my gut, I don't think any of these schools are going to be right for me," Troy responded, somewhat vaguely.

Jack smiled. "It's a big decision, I understand your apprehension. In many ways, it will be impossible to know if it's the right school until you're actually there playing with them. That's why these weekends away are a really great opportunity. But it's early days. Around playoffs, my phone will be ringing off the hook with other schools showing interest. For now, your job is to make sure you get an application into their school. Then they have all the way through until the NLI signing period in April and May to convince you."

Troy nodded. "I suppose."

Jack nodded, and quickly moved the topic in a different direction, sensing the overwhelm that was coming over his son. "Anyway, you'd better go get changed. Big practice ahead."

"Are you worried about not having Chad?" Troy asked.

Jack paused. "It's never a good feeling not being able to put your best team out there. But the truth is that it worries me even more what will happen if he fails his test again next week. Not only will we then not have you and also Chad next Friday but… the school is really quite concerned about him. It's not only this math exam that he didn't do great in, a lot of his other teachers said his work hasn't been up to scratch. I know that this is the policy but I just hate that the administration want to make an example out of one of my guys."

Troy nodded. "Yeah, it sucks."

"By the way? I didn't say any of that."

* * *

Chad had gone home with the intent of being productive with his studies. After loading the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher and tidying up in the kitchen, he moved to the dining table. He laid out his math textbook, workbook, pens, pencils, eraser, sharpener, ruler, calculator and blank worksheets. He then spent fifteen minutes rearranging the items on the table, trying to deduce what placement on the dining table would best lend itself toward productivity.

Finally he flipped open the math textbook. His teacher had held him back briefly at the end of class, and put post-it notes into the pages that he needed to focus on. Chad found the area on quadratic equations – which had formed a major part of the exam, and began to read at a random point on the page.

_It follows from the zero-product property that either __x__ equals 2 or __x__ equals negative 5 are the solutions, since precisely one of the factors must be equal to zero. All quadratic equations will have two solutions in the complex number system, but need not have any in the real number system._

Chad blinked a few times before rereading the section over three more times, hoping that some sense would be drawn. No luck.

He pushed the chair back and pulled out his homework diary. **Chemistry – Read Experiment 7A**. He nodded to himself. This was something he could do. He pushed his math textbook aside and pulled out his Chemistry textbook. He impressed himself, reading through the experiment not just once but twice. It didn't make a lot of sense to him, but he had read it. He took great pride in placing a tick beside the item in his homework diary.

"Time for a break, I think," Chad said out loud.

He'd already decided upon what meal to cook for dinner that night. He was going to do a satay chicken with rice. He decided to precook it, so that once Jayme got home from her friends house, all they would need to do is reheat it. Chad flicked on the radio to hum along as he worked. He put the chicken breast into the microwave to defrost, placed a pot of water on at the stove and measured out the cup of rice. He grabbed a jar of satay sauce out of the kitchen pantry and put it on the bench. He then turned back to the microwave to prod at the chicken bits. The container spilled and he wound up with chicken juice all over his hands.

"Ew!" Chad said out loud.

In perfect timing, the telephone began to ring. Chad ran to the sink, quickly turning on the tap to de-juice his hands before running back over to the bench where the phone was. In the process of reaching out to grab the phone, Chad's hand knocked the jar of satay sauce off the bench and it was sent crashing onto the floor – spilling half the jar on his jeans in the process.

And then to perfect the timing even more, the doorbell rang just as the phone stopped ringing. Chad dashed toward the door. Jayme wasn't due home for at least another hour, but there was a chance it was her and she'd forgotten her house key.

He threw the door open, and could not have been more surprised to see Gabriella Montez smiling at him.

"Gabriella!" he exclaimed.

"Um… bad time?" Gabriella supplied, gesturing to his jeans.

"Um… yes but it's okay. Come in. Umm…."

"Go clean up," she said firmly, gesturing upstairs.

A hissing noise came from the kitchen.

"Shit it's the water…" Chad began to say.

"I'll get it. Go," she prompted, gesturing upstairs.

"I'll just be a second," Chad promised, and dashed upstairs.

Gabriella went into the kitchen and turned off the stove before acquiring a cloth, dustpan and broom. As she was cleaning the mess on the floor, she could hear Chad in the laundry, and assumed that he was rinsing his jeans. She then turned back to the stove, examining the rice that was on the bench measured out in a cup.

"Sorry about that," Chad apologised, breezing back into the room wearing a fresh pair of cargo pants.

"Do you still want the rice to go on? Do you have another jar of sauce?"

Chad recalled back to the previous week when the jars had been on sale and stocking up and buying a few. "Yeah we do, I think so."

"I didn't know you could cook."

Chad tipped the rice into the now boiling water. "Umm yeah my mom is out tonight. Some work function. I don't really cook, just basic stuff. But don't tell Zeke that because he would have a field day." Chad went to the microwave and removed the defrosted chicken to put it into the fridge until he was ready to cook it up.

"Where's Jayme?" Gabriella asked.

"She's at a friend's house. She stays there til about 6 since mom works and I normally have practice."

"You're cooking a lot just for you and Jayme," Gabriella remarked.

"Umm I thought I'd cook some extra. Never know when it's good to have an extra meal in the freezer," Chad's answer had been hurried and forced. It was a tone Gabriella had heard a lot from him lately – and now with understanding of the context, it all made perfect sense.

Gabriella nodded. "Don't forget to put the timer on, in case you forget about it."

"Thanks. You uh, want a drink?"

Chad opened the fridge, relieved to see it was relatively well stocked for once.

"Just water would be great."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Chad nodded and poured her a glass before grabbing himself a glass of milk.

"So, why are you here?" he asked bluntly.

"Well, I was walking home from my tutoring lesson, I passed by, and I thought that I would pop by and see if you would like any help studying for your test."

"It's not til next week," Chad said casually.

Gabriella cleared her throat, and attempted to respond tactfully. "Chad, you got thirty percent. You need eighty percent. You're not going to learn this stuff overnight."

He sighed. "Yeah I know that. I um… I don't want to be a burden, Gab," Chad answered honestly. The truth was that it had crossed his mind that he should ask one of the girls to help him study. His reasons for not wanting Taylor's help hadn't changed, and he honestly had contemplated asking Gabriella if she had any time – but between the musical, student council, her tutoring job, school and Troy – Gabriella's time was limited. "You've got the musical in like two weeks and all the other shit you've got on."

"It just so happens that I am very good at multitasking. And I'm here now anyway so I might as well help you get started. I assume that's what all this stuff is laid out for," Gabriella said, motioning to the clutter on the table.

"Yeah," Chad conceded.

"Well come on then. Your rice is gonna take a while, and you know they say a watched pot never cooks."

Chad reluctantly agreed and sat down at the dining table. "I really was trying. It just… confused me. So I did other homework instead."

Gabriella removed the chemistry textbook, and also took away his workbook, the pens, the sharpener, the ruler, and the calculator. Leaving just blank paper, his textbook, pencils and an eraser.

"Do you have the exam?"

"In the workbook you confiscated," Chad said with a grin.

Gabriella smiled and flicked through to locate the paper. She glanced through, checking what questions were being asked.

"Okay. So it's mainly quadratics they want you to know," she mused. "Simple."

Chad coughed. "Simple? Yeah, fully."

Glancing at cross after cross on the page – and looking at answers that Gabriella could only imagine Chad had plucked from the middle of nowhere – it became even more clear just how difficult the material was for him. "Looking at this… you don't get it at all."

"Not in the slightest. Algebra is stupid," Chad declared.

"The Lakers are stupid," Gabriella shot back.

"Okay, okay. I shouldn't have said that. But… I don't get it. At all. I barely got by with my C average last year and… I really don't know how I did that because I don't remember anything."

"All right, at least you're upfront about that. So it means we go back and go over some stuff from last year, refresh your memory."

Chad sensed that Gabriella wasn't just by for a flying visit. She had settled into her chair, pulled out her own notebook, and as she was speaking she had began to draw up a list of key refresher points.

"Gab?" Chad ventured.

"Yeah?" Gabriella kept jotting down her notes.

"I know you're not doing this for me, you're doing this for Bolton. You know, so he doesn't flip out if I get kept off the team even longer. But thanks anyway."

Chad was very sincere with his tone. He knew the potentially calamitous affect of Troy finding out that Gabriella had offered to tutor him. Troy tended to live in a black and white world where it was impossible for Gabriella to love Troy and yet also help Chad, as long as Troy was mad at Chad.

"I'm not doing this for Troy. I'm doing it for you," Gabriella said seriously.

The sincerity in Chad's tone and facial expression faded away. Chad may not have been the most intelligent person when it came to quadratics or chemicals – but he had a rather sharpened set of skills when it came to reading people. Gabriella by her very nature was both emotive and open, and at that moment, it dawned upon Chad exactly why it was that Gabriella was reaching out to him with a sudden empathy.

"Evans told you."

Any other person in Gabriella's situation – where she had been told in confidence of the situation, where Ryan had asked that if she went to Chad, that she at least try to keep it secret that he had told her anything – would have responded with, '_Evans told me what'_ or a similar phrase. Gabriella couldn't lie even if she wanted to, it was something that she was rather incapable of doing. So she didn't even make the attempt.

"Sorta yeah," she confessed with a wince.

"Fucking asshole," Chad muttered, his eyes flashing with anger. He jumped up, wringing his hands as he paced backwards and forwards. "I can't believe this! You're not here because you want to help me, you're here because you feel _sorry_ for me!"

"What! No, not at all!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Bull shit! You're thinking, ohh poor Chad with his stupid fucked up situation, it's just not fair. Well you know what, I don't appreciate my so called friends talking about me behind my back, and I don't appreciate you barging in here and trying to be all Mother Theresa and good Samaritan and stuff! I don't need your fucking help!"

It was now Gabriella's turn to leap to her feet and rile up. "Well you know what Chad, your so called friends have been worried sick about you for weeks now!" Gabriella exclaimed. "And maybe I didn't find out in the ideal way but you know what, I know about it, there's nothing you can do about it! So rather than being all defensive and annoyed about it, why don't you just take advantage of the situation! I'm not here because I feel _sorry_ for you, I'm here because you do need help, whether you want to admit it or not. You don't have to get it from me if you don't want my help, but seriously Chad, you doodling in your margins is _not_ going to get you eighty percent in this exam!"

Chad didn't say anything. He was angry, granted, but there was something powerful about having Gabriella practically shout at him – or speak sternly, as she did. Gabriella spent the majority of her time going through life as a sweet, easy going individual. When she did rise beyond being that person – she meant business. And every word that she said would resonate. It took Chad a moment to find himself capable of saying anything else.

"So what are you going to do now, go off and run over to Bolton's and Taylor's and tell them all about it?" Chad said bitterly.

"Do you think if I was going to do that, I'd be here talking to you? Wouldn't I be telling them as soon as I could?"

Chad shrugged. "Dunno."

"Do you really think that lowly of me?"

"No, but I am realistic. Taylor's your best friend. Troy's your boyfriend. Your loyalty is with them," Chad said honestly.

"I am here because _you_ are my friend and because I'm worried and because through no fault of your own, you've wound up in a sticky situation which hopefully I can help you out with. If you'll let me."

Chad began to laugh bitterly. "A sticky situation. That's hilarious Gab. Very diplomatic of you. Why don't you just say it bluntly. I fucked up."

"You've got a lot going on," Gabriella said soothingly.

"Yeah and I handled it badly. I fucked the whole thing up from the start. It's my fault that Taylor and I broke up, it's my fault that Troy got all pissed at me."

"Let's stop worrying about Troy and Taylor. I don't care about them right now, I care about you. The biggest issue right now is this exam next week."

"Everything at school is fucked Gab, that's just the only subject they have an exam to prove it with," Chad groaned.

"We're gonna fix it Chad. One step at a time."

* * *

Troy woke up on Tuesday morning to a text message on his phone from Gabriella, informing him that he didn't need to pick her up for school that morning. In his just woken up of a morning state, Troy didn't think otherwise and just rolled back over for another ten minute snooze.

When Troy arrived at school, he found Martha and Ryan both hanging out at the E Pillar fountain.

"Where's Gabriella?" Ryan asked.

"Morning to you too," Troy said in amusement.

"Sorry, morning."

"She sent me a text saying she didn't need a ride. I sent one back saying you sure, she replied saying yes it is fine. That's all I know."

It wasn't long before the situation revealed itself. The ear splitting sound of _Burnin' Up_ playing as loud as humanely possible filled the parking lot.

"Oh God, what is with everyone liking those kids?" Troy grumbled.

"Kids?" Martha repeated.

"Yes. The Johnson Brothers or whoever they are that all of you lunatic girls are going crazy over."

"Firstly they are not 'kids'," Martha said indignantly. "The youngest is 16 which is hardly a _kid_. Secondly, they are the _Jonas_ Brothers. And thirdly, your girlfriend is one of those lunatic girls currently going crazy over them."

"Huh?"

Martha motioned toward the parking lot, her face breaking into a smile. A blue Jeep Wrangler had pulled into the lot, being the offending source of the music. Sitting in the drivers seat was none other than Taylor McKessie, and in the passenger seat singing along to the music was Gabriella Montez. Martha dashed toward the girls to ooh and ahh over the car.

"Welcome to the club of people with cars," Troy greeted Taylor as the girls came back over to the fountain. "Although might I say that jeeps are really dangerous."

"With your driving skills, a Volvo is dangerous," Taylor retorted.

Troy gasped, and mimed a knife being stabbed into his heart. "Ouch."

"You're just jealous because now I don't need you for transportation purposes," Gabriella teased as she gave her boyfriend a good morning kiss on the cheek.

Troy's arms snaked around her waist. "Transportation purposes are the least of the reasons why you need me," he remarked lewdly.

"I would be mad at you for saying that out loud, except that it is true," Gabriella said with a giggle.

Three sets of eyes averted away from the kiss that proceeded to take place.

"So where did the car come from, I knew you were talking about buying one but I didn't realise you had been looking seriously," Ryan said to Taylor.

"It's my sister's old car. She was looking to sell it and I've driven it a lot before and I really love it so… it all worked out rather conveniently."

"I'm the only person here who doesn't have a car," Gabriella observed, looking around. "I need Jason and Kelsi to be here so I can feel better."

"I believe the first step is learning to drive," Ryan pointed out.

"Are you planning to teach me?' Gabriella said.

"In my Audi?" Ryan said incredulously, before bursting into laughter. "Yeah, right."

"Get a couple of drivers ed classes, then your mom might not feel so antsy about teaching you," Troy suggested patiently. It was a suggestion he had found himself making on multiple occasions.

"_Or_ you could just teach me?"

Troy sighed. "We've discussed this. My truck is not a good learning vehicle."

"That's just an excuse," Gabriella said huffily.

"How about we change the topic away from cars?" Taylor suggested.

"I can't believe we only have just over a week of rehearsals left!" Martha said excitedly.

Troy jumped up to sit on the edge of the fountain and pulled Gabriella to stand in front of him between his legs. He draped his arms over her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her neck, in an attempt to distract her from her annoyance with the driving conversation with affection.

"Isn't it great? In less than two weeks, the whole thing is over. I can't wait," Troy said with a grin.

"Until the next one," Taylor said suggestively.

Troy shook his head definitively. "No way. There will not be a next one."

"Yeah right," Ryan said.

"No really. The winter musical will fall right during recruitment season and the states and everything."

"Might I point out that he said he wasn't auditioning for the fall musical either," Taylor said.

"That was different," Troy said defensively. "I wanted to do it. I just wasn't sure how I could. Besides, the stupid cockhead was behind that."

"I'm sorry, the who now?" Martha said.

"The stupid cockhead," Troy repeated, deadpan.

"That's a little harsh," Ryan remarked.

"Why? That's what he is."

Gabriella shot Ryan a pleading look, a look to just leave it alone. The truth was that she hadn't been remarkably impressed with any of Troy's behaviour of late when it came to the situation with Chad. Even before Ryan had told her about all the context, she knew that there was something more going on. On a certain level, they all had known that Chad hadn't been himself. Gabriella was smack bang in the middle, where she knew that Troy was being unreasonable; but she also knew Troy well enough to know that a lot of what was going on wasn't only about Chad's behaviour changes of late. She also knew that a lot of Troy's narrow mindedness in relation to the situation was more so a reflection of his lack of awareness of the full context. And she also knew that the reason Ryan could see that Troy was being narrow minded was because he understood the scenario from multiple perspectives. Gabriella knew the long term solution was going to take a long time to evolve, however she doubted that Troy and Chad could maintain this level of anger for an extended period of time. So Gabriella was willing to quash her frustration at Troy, and allow him to have his childish tirade with Chad until it wore thin. However it seemed that Ryan wasn't prepared to be as forgiving or as patient; and that he'd had enough of standing back and watching as everything had fallen apart.

"Maybe you should give the guy a break," Ryan suggested.

Gabriella's eyes were cast downward, not contributing anything to the discussion. If Troy had been paying more attention to her instead of staring at Ryan in disbelief, he may have noticed her tense up within his hold.

"Why should I? I'm in the right. As usual, he fucks up and brings down people around him."

"Obviously not everyone agrees with you so maybe you'd better keep your judgements to yourself before you alienate everyone around you," Ryan said, the words just spilling out of his mouth.

Troy's arms dropped from Gabriella, and he jumped off the fountain, his arms folding as he faced off with Ryan. "What do you mean, not everyone agrees with me?"

"Well, to begin with, where are Zeke and Jason right now?" Ryan pointed out. "Not hanging out with you, are they?"

"Okay, I think we should all go in to homeroom!" Gabriella said abruptly.

"No really, let's have Ryan continue with his tirade," Troy said. "It's just getting interesting."

Ryan exhaled. "I'm not ragging on you man, you don't need to be all defensive. I don't think you're wrong in the situation. But I don't think you're right either. There are two sides here and if you ever want to sort through it, it's gonna start with acknowledging that."

"Fine," Troy said shortly. "There are two sides. Let's go inside."

* * *

When Chad arrived at homeroom with Jason, Zeke and Kelsi, his eyes met Ryan's for a brief moment. After she'd left Chad's house the evening before, the first thing Gabriella had done was call Ryan and tell him what had happened. He wasn't upset with Gabriella – the moment he had decided to tell her, he'd anticipated that she wouldn't be able to keep from Chad how she knew. And now, Ryan was prepared for an onslaught.

Meanwhile, Troy was glancing at Zeke and Jason, feeling slightly wary.

"Hi Troy," Jason said, relatively obliviously.

"Hey man," Zeke said, not so much oblivious.

"Morning," Troy said shortly.

Homeroom proceeded without incident; Taylor, Troy and Gabriella headed off in one direction, and Chad quickly stood to move toward his history class.

"Chad, wait up!" Ryan called after him, scurrying after his friend who he shared first period with.

Chad paused for a moment in the hallway upon hearing Ryan's call, and allowed Ryan to catch up with him.

"Umm… so… I heard that umm… that Gabriella is gonna help you get ready for the exam?" Ryan said carefully, trying to focus on the overall positive outcome of the scenario.

"Yup," Chad said simply.

"I know… I shouldn't have just told her. I could have… I don't know, suggested to you that you ask her to tutor you or… something. But…"

"Evans?"

"Yes?" Ryan said meekly.

"Truth is, I was really pissed at you. But I know you meant well. And truth is, if I were you, I'd have probably told someone a long time ago," Chad said honestly. "So I'll get over it. But this is like a one time thing, cross me again and I tend to get a bit pissed about it."

"What, like with Troy?"

Chad's eyes glazed over with venom. "Exactly."

* * *

Troy quite liked his Tuesday schedule. He got his trigonometry class out of the way first period; then second period drama was a breeze; physics he had with Gabriella in third period so despite being scary it was also highly enjoyable watching his girlfriend in her element. Following physics was a free period, lunch, PE and then Economics – again with Gabriella.

Following Physics class, Gabriella, Taylor, Troy and Martha began to wander down the corridor in the direction of Taylor's Global Studies class.

"So did you want to go work on our duet?" Troy murmured, pressing a kiss to Gabriella's forehead.

"Is it just me or does he make duet sound like he means something other than its definition?" Taylor said loudly to Martha.

Gabriella shot Taylor an amused 'shut up' grin.

"Umm actually… I'm kinda tied up with something," Gabriella informed Troy, biting her lip.

Troy looked at her dubiously. "What, do you have a meeting or something?"

"Um, kind of. I'm helping Chad study." Gabriella was trying to sound casual, like it was no big deal. But she predicted his reaction, and as he spoke, she winced.

"You're… you're _what_?" Troy repeated indignantly.

"And that would be our queue to leave," Martha remarked, she and Taylor quickly splitting off from the impending argument.

"You make it sound like I'm doing something wrong."

Troy cleared his throat. He'd never been one to tell Gabriella what she could or could not do – but there was no hiding that within this particular situation, he felt betrayed

"Umm… well… you know, if you want to tutor him, then you should," Troy said carefully.

"Is this an issue, Troy?" Gabriella asked, hearing the strain in his tone. Her arms folded across her chest defensively.

"No. No issue." Troy was lying through his teeth, she knew it, he knew that she knew it.

"Okay then," Gabriella said.

The two stood in awkward silence.

"Umm… we're going to study throughout lunch," Gabriella informed him. "So… I'll talk to you in Economics."

"I thought we had plans to go eat lunch together, alone," Troy said, his tone filled with contempt.

"Oh… I know we'd talked about it but… this is important Troy. You're the one who is flipping out about Chad not being able to play. You should be supporting this."

"Yeah, whatever," Troy mumbled.

Gabriella closed her eyes momentarily. She was beginning to understand exactly why Ryan had snapped. The whole situation was completely ridiculous, on both counts. Gabriella knew that Chad was straining under the pressure of keeping the situation a secret. His initial rage filled reaction to Gabriella having knowledge of what was going on had worn off quickly. If anything, he had seemed a little relieved not having to pretend with her. All it would take would be Troy trying to sort out the situation, and Gabriella suspected Chad might come clean.

"Please don't take that tone with me," Gabriella said carefully. "I get you're annoyed but… don't take it out on me."

"Ironic that you acknowledge that I'm annoyed when you seem rather annoyed with me."

Gabriella's eyes diverted away from his. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You said it yesterday, you said that you thought I was out of line. Obviously you have a lecture brewing within. Why don't you just let rip and get it over with?"

"Troy, I have to go," Gabriella said softly. "I'm running late."

Troy rolled his eyes. "That's right. You're studying with him."

Gabriella cleared her throat, and forced a smile. "Okay, well I'll see you later," she said, with false cheeriness.

* * *

Troy arrived in final period Economics and slunk into his seat. Less than a minute later, Gabriella appeared in the doorway. Her eyes fell upon Troy and she silently walked over to her desk beside his.

"Hi," Troy said quietly.

"Hello," Gabriella responded.

He cleared his throat. "I think… I think we need to talk about before."

"No, we don't," Gabriella said simply.

"Gabriella…"

"Troy, I mean it. There's nothing to talk about."

"You're lying."

"Even if there was, now is not the time. We have class now," Gabriella replied evenly, motioning to the teacher who was about to begin.

She opened her textbook and turned away from him, spending the entirety of final period Economics facing forward, and pretending that the boy sitting to her right wasn't there.

* * *

It was the first full, complete run through of _Once Upon A Time_, with the full cast and the band present. The proceedings hadn't been without any dramas. Despite Sunday's run through, there were still a lot of difficulties dealing with the change of location from the classroom to the Lava Springs stage. It also didn't help that one of the leading performers was currently not speaking to another one of the leading performers.

It was almost 7:30 at night, rehearsal drawing to a close. Both Wednesday and Thursday's rehearsals were taking place within smaller groups at East High; with Friday nights rehearsal after the Wildcats basketball game being designated as the first full dress rehearsal.

Gabriella was standing centre stage at Lava Springs, pouring her heart and soul into her heartfelt ballad. Troy was standing in the wings, gazing at his girlfriend in adoration. She was incredible, amazing, brilliant. The first moment he had heard her sing, the first time he heard her enchanting songbird voice at the lodge on New Years Eve – Troy had been captivated. And since then, each time he heard her sing, it took him back to that place.

To a simpler time before the complexities of life had taken over and impeded upon their burgeoning relationship.

Troy's reverie was broken by a certain blonde popping up beside him.

"You've been going really well today," Sharpay said, flashing Troy a broad smile. "Seems like my memorisation techniques have worked well for you."

"They did, actually. I can't say which one but between them all… but yeah I'm doing so much better. Thanks."

Sharpay followed Troy's gaze, eyes still fixated upon Gabriella. "So… it seems like the two of you had some kind of fight or something."

She would be lying if she said that witnessing the tension between Troy and Gabriella hadn't served to provide a certain glimmer of hope. She had been within earshot when Troy had attempted to initiate conversation with his girlfriend as they were hanging around waiting for rehearsal to begin. Sharpay had heard the tension within Gabriella's reply, her efforts to keep the conversation purely professional. Sharpay had consequently thought that Gabriella was being an idiot.

Thanks to Ryan, Troy was now feeling acutely aware of every aspect of his behaviour around Sharpay. He'd already been walking on eggshells before, but now he couldn't even pretend to be ignorant to her feelings. She was trying to act casual, but casual wasn't Sharpay Evans strength.

Troy cleared his throat. "Um. Not really. It's not a big deal. It'll sort itself out."

"Well… if you want to talk about it or… anything…" Sharpay ventured.

"Any ulterior motive to that offer?" Troy asked.

Sharpay's jaw dropped. "I… I… I beg your pardon?"

"Sharpay… I am in love with Gabriella. We've had a little fight. That is all. Do you get that?" Troy was in no mood for games.

"Do you think I am completely stupid? Because I'm blonde or something? I know you are dating Gabriella. I never suggested that your fight had been colossal!" Sharpay said indignantly.

Troy nodded. "Right. Of course."

"Good. That's clear then."

* * *

Gabriella and Ryan were walking from the Lava Springs stage area to the parking lot. Gabriella had asked Ryan if he could give her a lift home – and whereas Ryan had been a little uncertain as to whether he would be further treading on Troy's toes by doing so, he couldn't exactly say no.

"See, it was definitely a whole lot better tonight than on Sunday," Gabriella said enthusiastically. "Then we use the smaller rehearsals over the next couple of days to refine some of the songs that need fixing, and to just sharpen up some of the dancing – and we have all of the weekend dedicating to just going over and over and over and over and over."

"There was one big problem tonight that… well… no amount of practice can fix," Ryan remarked, avoiding looking at Gabriella.

"What? Was I terrible?" Gabriella asked.

Ryan sighed. "No! But… every scene with you and Troy… kinda fell flat."

Gabriella sighed. "Of _all_ people, I would have thought you would understand why I'm feeling so apprehensive about all of this. I can't _tell_ Troy that I think he's being ridiculous, but I do think that."

"Yeah but, is acting all weird around each other the way to solve the problem?"

"We'll talk about it eventually. I'm sure it'll all settle down, I was just feeling really edgy about it. I don't know how you've done it, been there while we've been talking about Chad being weird and not said anything about it."

"Yeah, it wasn't easy, I tell you."

"Gabriella!" Troy's voice rang out.

Gabriella closed her eyes, as if willing him to leave her alone. It didn't work. He darted over to them.

"I'm gonna wait for you at the car," Ryan said tentatively.

"What? What are you talking about? I'll give you a lift, to begin with it's totally impractical for Ryan to give you a lift, it's like ten minutes out of his way from here."

Ryan's eyes darted between Gabriella and Troy.

"Umm… well… we were going to stop at my place briefly to look over some student council stuff," Ryan said. "But… if you'd rather just go over it tomorrow Gabriella, then…"

"No, I think we should go over it tonight," Gabriella said firmly, before turning to Troy. "Rehearsal was good tonight."

"It was okay," Troy said simply.

"We should get going. I don't want to be home too late. Ryan, let's go."

"Gabriella?" Troy ventured. "I love you. And… I don't like things being weird. We should talk about this."

"Troy? I love you too. This isn't about that. I think I'm just… I don't know, in a bad mood or something. But it's going to be fine, I promise."

"Promise is a big word," Troy said, echoing a phrase Gabriella had used so poignantly once upon a time.

She nodded. "I know that."

"Okay. Well… you guys have fun with your student council stuff. And umm… are you going to be online later?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"Umm maybe, I'm not sure. I have a lot of work to do, and AIM always seems to distract me from getting things gone."

"Well if you are, I'll talk to you later. And… if not, tomorrow. Yeah?"

Gabriella nodded and smiled. "Sure."

Troy hesitated for a moment, before leaning over to press his lips to Gabriella's. She allowed him to kiss her, but pulled away after only a few seconds.

"Good night," Gabriella said, and turned away to head over to Ryan's car.

Troy's reply echoed through the night air. "Good night."

* * *


	45. Chapter 44

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies.

* * *

**Chapter 44**

Sharpay Evans was dressed in her fuzzy pink pyjamas, bathrobe and slippers ensemble. She was pacing in the hallway outside of Ryan's room. Under her left arm she was clutching onto a container of cookies and cream ice-cream, in her right hand, a pair of spoons. She had been pacing backwards and forwards for almost five minutes. The door swung open.

"Sharpay, what are you doing?" Ryan asked impatiently.

Sharpay cleared her throat. "Umm… exercising?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "What's with the ice-cream?"

"Remember when we were little, how we would sneak into the kitchen, steal the ice-cream tub and then hide under your bed and eat it and just talk?"

Ryan smiled. "Yeah, I remember. I'd get the ice-cream and you'd get the spoons."

"Do you remember that time when daddy came into the kitchen, you hadn't opened the freezer yet but I'd already gotten the spoons?"

"And he asked you what you were doing with them and we said we were doing an egg and spoon race," Ryan laughed.

"Who actually does those, anyway?" Sharpay mused, rolling her eyes.

"Who knows."

"Anyway… I had an urge for ice-cream and… wondered if you wanted any?" Sharpay offered.

"Sure," Ryan said, stepping back to allow Sharpay to come in. "Except I really don't feel like hiding under my bed in order to eat it."

"Me neither."

Ryan and Sharpay sat down on his bed, plonking the tub between them.

"What happened to your no extra dairy rule in the couple of weeks before a show?" Ryan asked.

"Umm… just for tonight, I thought I'd break it," Sharpay relented.

She dipped her spoon into the ice-cream, taking a large mouthful, and put it into her mouth, eating from the spoon with a contemplative stare.

"So… Gabriella and Troy were a bit under par tonight," Sharpay remarked, not looking at Ryan as she spoke.

"Umm… a little. I think they had a small fight but… it'll get sorted" Ryan said confidently, swallowing his first mouthful of ice-cream.

"That's what he said." Sharpay sighed. "I've been really stupid… haven't I?"

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked, dipping his spoon in for a second mouthful.

"With Troy," Sharpay elaborated sheepishly. She allowed her eyes to drift up from the ice-cream tub, to look at Ryan's deer in headlights expression. "I've… just been so stupid."

"Umm… well…" Ryan wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want Sharpay feeling bad, but at the same time, he wanted her to realise that she had no choice but to move on.

"You can say it. I need to hear it."

"It's not stupid to like someone, Shar," Ryan said. "But… sometimes it just gets to a point where… well…"

"Where it's stupid." Sharpay sighed. "Do you know why I decided to go to Paula's party as Princess Leia?"

"No…"

"Because… because when I asked Troy about… about whether he and I could have had a chance if Gabriella hadn't been in the picture, you know what he said? He told me that he prefers brunettes. I mean… I know that he was just saying it to indirectly say that it wouldn't have happened but…"

"You couldn't help but hope otherwise," Ryan supplied.

Sharpay nodded miserably. "I can't believe how I've been acting. All… desperate. Like I need him. I don't need Troy Bolton. My world does not revolve around Troy Bolton. He would be lucky to have me, he's the stupid one."

"You're absolutely right. You deserve better than him, Shar. You deserve someone who is going to appreciate you and love you," Ryan declared.

"So that's it then. I don't care about him anymore," Sharpay declared. "Sharpay and Troy… Troy and Sharpay… it makes no sense to me any more."

"Good for you!"

Sharpay forced a triumphant smile for a moment – before allowing the facade to drop and the cloud returning to her expression.

"It's not that easy, is it?"

"Maybe not but… it's a start," Ryan said with a sympathetic smile.

* * *

On Wednesday morning before school, Gabriella was gathering her textbooks and packing her bag ready for the day. Her cell phone began to ring, and she glanced at the screen and winced.

"Hey Troy," Gabriella said tentatively, still shoving items into her bag.

"Hey, you texted again and said Taylor is picking you up. Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Taylor likes being able to pick people up and play our really cool music loud. It's like we're paying you and Chad back for not letting us play our music in your vehicles."

Gabriella opened her balcony door to feel what the weather was like, shivering slightly at the cool wind. She turned back to her closet to retrieve a hoodie.

"I play Coldplay and Snow Patrol and Matchbox, you like all them!" Troy protested teasingly.

"But you draw the line at the Jonas Brothers and Rihanna."

"Well… yes."

"Troy, I'm sure you can manage not seeing me during the five minute drive to school," Gabriella pointed out. The phone between her ear and shoulder, Gabriella began to slip her arms into the jacket.

"Does this have anything to do with… you know… yesterday? I know we got a bit weird, but everything is cool, right?"

"Troy, not everything is about you." She was trying to make her tone light and jovial, but Troy wasn't oblivious to the tension in her voice. "Seriously, I'll see you in less than a half hour."

"Okay," Troy relented. "As long as you promise that you're not going to go running off to chase after whichever Jonas it is that you like."

Gabriella smiled. "That would be Joe. And I'll promise not to chase after him if you promise that you're not going to chase after Jessica Alba."

"Not in a million years," Troy declared.

"See you soon."

"Bye, I love you," Troy said.

Gabriella ended the call with Troy, and let out a long winded sigh.

* * *

"So I was surprised when you texted asking me for a lift. Trouble in paradise?" Taylor asked, glancing over into the passenger seat at her friend.

"Not exactly," Gabriella said uncomfortably.

"Spill."

"There isn't trouble. It's just weird at the moment," Gabriella explained. "Troy kinda reacted strangely when he found out that I offered to tutor Chad. I mean… you'd think Troy would be happy that someone is trying to make sure that Chad will be back on the team as soon as possible."

"You would think, yes. But… these guys are weird, you know that."

Gabriella sighed. "Yeah. Anyway, I just… I was feeling all annoyed with him yesterday. And I really shouldn't be, it's none of my business what is going on between them."

"It's your business when Troy is being controlling about who you can and can't be friends with. It's your prerogative if you want to tutor Chad. It's not like you're forcing Troy to talk to him."

"Exactly!" Gabriella exclaimed. "But… he didn't exactly directly say anything either. I just… I sensed that he wasn't happy about the situation. So… I felt like a bit of distance might be good. I don't want to snap at him or anything. It was bad enough last night at rehearsal, and with the show next week… we just need to keep everything good."

"And you think that pretending that you're okay with him when you're really not equates to being good?" Taylor asked. "If anything, you're just going to get more annoyed with him."

Gabriella exhaled. "Yeah. You're right."

"Umm actually… speaking of you tutoring Chad… how is he going?" Taylor asked, a little hesitantly.

Gabriella winced. "Umm… there's a lot to cover. He's a really bright guy, like it's not like he can't learn the material. He just somehow missed the fundamentals and it all went downhill from there, which is what happens in math if you get behind. It all builds on the basics."

Taylor nodded. "When we were going out… he kept saying he was fine with everything and that he didn't want my help. Which is stupid, last year he would call me all the time with questions about his homework."

"Maybe he saw it as an excuse to call you," Gabriella pointed out. "I know Troy sometimes get weird about me helping him too much, he doesn't want it all to be about school and studying."

"Hence the throwing away of the 'free periods are for study' rule?" Taylor asked coyly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Point being… I get that he didn't want to always be studying when you were together."

"Fair enough but… it shouldn't have gone this far."

Gabriella couldn't help but reflect upon the irony that Taylor didn't even know the half of it. "No, it shouldn't have."

* * *

After their respective first period math classes, Troy caught up with Gabriella just outside of their classrooms. They had free period now, and he had a plan for how they could spend the hour.

"Hey! So I was thinking that since we didn't get to have our lunch yesterday, that maybe we could go up to the garden now and…"

"Troy," Gabriella interrupted. "I'm meeting Chad again at the library."

Troy was taken aback. "_Again?_' he repeated incredulously.

"You do realise how badly he failed that exam, don't you? It's not just a matter of one quick lesson."

"And are you going to be studying with him at lunch again today?" Troy demanded.

"Probably."

Troy glanced around, realising that they were conducting the conversation in the middle of the hallway with more than one set of eavesdropping ears. He glanced into the closest classroom, which was conveniently empty, and pulled Gabriella inside.

"Do you have a problem with me tutoring Chad?" Gabriella asked bluntly.

"Umm, okay, last time I checked you are my girlfriend. And on Saturday night Chad betrayed your best friend by fooling around with another girl. And then on Sunday, he randomly attacked me. And then he went and potentially screwed up my whole season, which could affect my entire future."

Gabriella nodded and paused, allowing his words to sink in before speaking. She was attempting to be tactful with her response. "Chad is also my friend. And, if you look at it objectively for a moment, he's kinda going through a rough time. Things were weird for him at home, he broke up with his girlfriend, his best friend stopped talking to him, he got so behind with his schoolwork that he failed an exam and the school temporarily suspended him. Maybe he threw the first punch on Sunday but you didn't exactly stop it. And the apprehension had been there from long before, and it takes two to create that kind of tension."

"So you're on his side," Troy said bitterly.

Gabriella exhaled. "I'm not on anyone's side Troy. I just think that Ryan was right yesterday when he said that maybe you should cut the guy some slack."

"Oh good, so you're not on _Chad's_ side, you're on _Ryan's _side."

Gabriella's mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding me? Did you really just say that? I am not having this same argument with you over and over and over again!"

Troy swallowed, realising he may have crossed the line. "Okay that was… that was unwarranted and I really didn't mean it."

"If you didn't mean it on some level then why would you have said it?" Gabriella demanded. She was wringing her hands, and pacing backwards and forwards. "I'm actually _mad_ at you right now." She was in disbelief at her own feelings. Her tone was quiet and deliberate as she registered the extent of just how much the situation upset her. "I'm mad at you and I hate being mad at you because I'm never mad at you. I've felt mildly annoyed and frustrated. Even when I broke up with you I wasn't really mad at you. And right now I've crossed from being mildly frustrated about an ongoing issue into the category of mad and… and… I just can't deal with it."

Gabriella moved toward the classroom door.

"Gabriella, we have to talk about this," Troy exclaimed.

He moved quickly to follow her and grabbed her arm to pull her back. Gabriella flinched and instinctively pulled her arm away. She reached for the door handle and spoke without even turning around to look at him.

"We will talk. I'm sure I will calm down but right now I'm just… I can't talk about it because I'm scared I'll say something that I regret," Gabriella said quietly. "So I am going to the library."

Gabriella felt the anger bubbling inside. She felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. She was highly aware of the fact that a lot of her frustration with Troy wasn't warranted, given that he had no idea the extent or context of the situation with Chad. However as it seemed was becoming a clockwork scenario, Troy just couldn't keep his mouth shut about Ryan. She didn't doubt that he had said it out of frustration and that he didn't truly mean it. But on some level, he had thought it. It hadn't just come from nowhere. If she had stayed talking to him, the simmering anger would have boiled over and she knew that she had to get away and distance herself from him. She walked quickly to the library, head down, avoiding any sort of eye contact or contrived conversation with an acquaintance she might run into.

She had booked a study room in the library for her and Chad. With the delay as a result of the argument, she was late and he was already there, books open, studying diligently.

"Hey, I was beginning to think you were gonna bail on me," Chad remarked. He then looked at her a little closer. "Gab? What's wrong?"

She forced a smile. "I'm fine. Sorry I'm late." She pulled out a chair and sat down beside him.

"You're not fine. Talk to me," Chad insisted.

"It's really not a big deal. I just had a silly argument with Troy."

Chad's face darkened. "About you studying with me?"

"Um… that's what started it but that's not why I got upset with him. Don't worry about it. I just… I just want to concentrate on this. Let's get started."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? If there's anyone who gets Bolton Psychology 101, it's me," Chad said.

Gabriella gave him a small smile. "It's okay. Thanks for the offer though."

* * *

In third period physics, the little amount of conversation that took place was forced and stilted. Notes were left in Gabriella's locker throughout the day, text messages sent – as well as conversation attempt after conversation attempt on Troy's behalf. Each and every time, Gabriella's response was simple.

"Not now. Give me time."

Final period Economics was a repeat of third period physics, with one key exception – when Gabriella attempted to just leave at the end of class, Troy pulled her back.

"Gabriella, this is ridiculous! Haven't we learnt that we need to talk about problems when they come up?" Troy said imploringly.

Gabriella sunk her hands deep into the pockets of her hoodie. "Troy, I'm not done being really really annoyed yet. I already told you, about seventeen times – I'll talk to you about it. We have to talk about it, because what happened today was symptomatic of a much bigger problem in our relationship. But I can't talk about it when I'm all emotional and annoyed. So just give me time."

"You can't stop me from trying to apologise to you. You were right, I was totally out of line getting angry at you and I was even more out of line for bringing the whole Ryan thing into this."

"You being sorry doesn't change that I'm annoyed. Now please, just let me go home and you go to training. You have a game tonight. Remember?"

"Are you going to come?" Troy asked.

Gabriella paused. "Yes. I am," she replied quietly, before turning to walk away.

"I love you," he called after her. "Don't forget that."

Gabriella turned around, feeling the tears forming in her eyes. "You can't just fix everything with those three words. It's more than words that count."

* * *

On Wednesday night, a half an hour before game time, Chad took a deep breath before knocking on Coach Bolton's office door.

"Yeah?" Chad heard his voice calling him in.

He turned the handle and pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Coach Bolton had changed from his smart casual regular school wear into his game night suit. He was scribbling on a notepad when he looked up to see who had entered. The expression on his face clouded over.

"You're not meant to be here," he said, a little gruffly.

"Actually, I went and asked Matsui if I was allowed to come watch. He agreed," Chad said. "And I just finished a tutoring session, and since my tutor is going to the game as well, she agreed that taking a break is important."

"Well looking at that test paper, it seems like you've spent the last month or so 'taking a break' so you shouldn't need another one again for a while," Jack said sarcastically.

"I'm just trying to make the most of a really shithouse situation, all right coach?"

"Shithouse? You think the situation is shithouse? You have _no idea_ just how shithouse it is! You know, Coach Lang is here tonight, scouting for New Mexico State. You know who he is here to see?"

"Troy," Chad said bitterly.

"Yes Troy, but you know who else? _You_," Coach Bolton said emphatically.

Chad's face lifted, staring at Coach Bolton in surprise.

"And on Friday, you know who is lined up and ready to watch _you_ play? The Redhawks coach. He isn't coming for Troy, other than to keep dangling promises in front of his face. He's coming to check you out."

"Oh," Chad said meekly.

"Yeah. OH. OH is right. Do you even want to continue to pursue this sport?"

"Of course I do, what kind of a dumb question is that?"

"Well you need to grow up and start acting like it!"

"What do you want me to do?!" Chad exclaimed. "Go back in time? Magically pass the exam? I can't change it, Coach! Yeah I screwed up. There's no point in just making me feel even worse about it!"

"I'm not trying to make you feel worse about it I'm trying to make you understand the severity of consequences here, I'm trying to make you understand how critical it is that you are playing and putting every ounce of yourself into each and every game that we play."

"I GET THAT! Do you think I'm just some fucking dumbass? Just because algebra isn't my thing?"

"How dare you use that kind of language with me!"

"Well how dare you talk to me like you have been!" Chad shot back. "Like you're some kind of father figure scolding a child. You're _not_ my father, stop talking to me like you are!"

Chad spun around and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Meanwhile just up the corridor, Troy was pacing around in the locker room. The guys were stretching and warming up, which Troy also _should_ have been doing. Instead he was wringing his hands.

"I had to go and bring up the one thing that is like taboo, the one thing that I _knew_ if I ever brought up again, she would go ape shit on me. It's like a disease, I don't have a filter between my subconscious and my brain and my mouth."

"Dude, it's not like she said she never wants to sort it out. You said she said she just needs to cool off," Jason pointed out, his arm stretched across his chest.

"Maybe I could steal the PA and apologise to her? Like at half time?" Troy pondered out loud. "It worked for the guy in _10 Things._"

Xavier sighed. "Dude, didn't you just tell us that you've got that journalist coach guy here tonight?"

Troy blinked. "Yeah."

"The one who is talking about recommending you for the McDonalds All American, and who has contacts from colleges around the country, and picks the New Mexico state team?"

"That's the one."

"I might not be as familiar with this whole 'scenario' as these guys," Xavier said, motioning to Jason and Zeke. "But it seems to me like you're freaking out about nothing when you maybe should have your head in the game."

Troy folded his arms and stared at Xavier. "You're right."

"I know I'm right."

"I mean, you're right. You don't get the scenario at all."

"This is what Bolton does. Well, since he met Gabriella, anyway," Zeke said with a smirk. "I can tell you already, tonight is gonna suck. It was bad enough losing Danforth, and now with Bolton all over the shop…"

"I have to go talk to her now," Troy said abruptly.

"Now?" Jason repeated.

"Now," Troy confirmed.

"We play in less than a half hour!" Xavier exclaimed.

"Which means she's probably hanging around outside because she had a student council meeting and then she was tutoring… him… again. Yes. That's what I am doing. I am going to talk to her and I am going to make her listen to me now."

Troy strode across the locker room toward the exit.

"I thought she just wanted you to leave her alone?" Zeke called after him.

"I don't care!" Troy's voice wafted back into the room, as he was already down the corridor.

Jack Bolton was just heading into the locker room when he passed his son fleeing down the corridor.

"Troy, where are you…"

"Can't talk now!" Troy called behind him.

He tore out of the gym, emerging into the early evening air. As suspected, he found Gabriella hanging outside, presently with Kelsi, Martha, Ryan and Taylor.

"Gabriella!" Troy exclaimed. "Gabriella, don't tell me to go away, please please please please please I HAVE to talk to you."

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed. "You have a game in like, twenty minutes."

"I know. Which is why timing is of the essence here. Please. Please Gabriella you have to… you can keep being mad and I… I can accept that. But at least hear me out. You have to do that, you have to listen to what I have to say. You don't have to talk, but can you please at least listen. Please."

Gabriella's arms were folded in defensive stance. She was staring at the ground. A part of her felt bound to her principles, but the other part could hear the genuinely desperate plea in his tone. She felt Taylor's hand on her back, pushing her forward.

"At least hear him out," Kelsi said quietly.

Troy threw a grateful glance at the girls.

Martha cleared her throat. "Okay, we're gonna go in and nab the best seats in the house."

Gabriella remained stagnant, arms folded across her chest, staring at the ground.

"Okay. I'm listening."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow this was tiny by my standards. Like I explained, there was a reshuffle and… it just worked like this. Depending on a few things, I may update tomorrow morning my time being tomorrow night US time and in the wee hours of the morning European time. Sooner than usual, anyway. Note _may _update sooner... :-) - Dani xo


	46. Chapter 45

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make them act out my kinky fantasies. Candace Bushnell is brillilant, like I could write her stuff.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **So I am trying to catch up with the whole inserting another chapter. Here's another nice long one for you all. Enjoy :-)

* * *

**Chapter 45**

"Gabriella!" Troy exclaimed, darting over to her. "Gabriella, don't tell me to go away, please please please please please I _have_ to talk to you."

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed. "You have a game in like…" she glanced at her watch. "… twenty minutes!"

"I know. Which is why timing is of the essence here. Please. Please Gabriella you have to… you can keep being mad and I… I can accept that. But at least hear me out. You have to do that, you have to listen to what I have to say. You don't have to talk, but can you please at least listen. Please."

Gabriella's arms were folded in defensive stance. She was staring at the ground. A part of her felt bound to her principles, but the other part could hear the genuinely desperate plea in his tone. She felt Taylor's hand on her back, pushing her forward.

"At least hear him out," Kelsi said quietly.

Troy threw a grateful glance at the girls.

Martha cleared her throat. "Okay, we're gonna go in and score the best seats in the house."

Gabriella remained stagnant, arms folded across her chest, staring at the ground.

"Okay. I'm listening."

Troy was taken aback. He had fully anticipated being shot down yet again.

"You're… you're listening?" Troy repeated dumbly.

A small smile cracked onto Gabriella's face. "Yes. Don't sound so surprised."

Troy took a breath, attempting to compose himself. He'd been so focused on the concept of just needing to talk to her that he hadn't really thought about what exactly it was that he wanted to talk to her about.

"Okay… okay. You... you have to know that I am so, so, so, so sorry. I know that what I said really hurt you and I know that it is really important that we sort it out. I get that. And I appreciate that you wanted to wait til you were feeling calm to talk about it, because that totally makes sense."

"Troy? What was it that you said that you are sorry about?" Gabriella enquired.

"The thing about Ryan. And… the stuff about Chad." Gabriella's eyebrows were raised, not looking particularly satisfied with the depth of his answer. Troy picked up on this, and elaborated. "I get that this whole Ryan thing has been plaguing us. The minute it came out of my mouth I knew it was wrong. I really wasn't even aware that I had any issues remaining with the whole thing, beyond my naturally jealous streak. Now I kinda realise that maybe there is residual stuff and that it needs to be worked on. And I know you were upset that I got narky about you tutoring Chad. It wasn't like I was trying to tell you what you can and can't do. It's actually a whole lot more complicated and there's no point in going into it during a one sided conversation."

"Probably not," Gabriella conceded, her arms still folded.

"But you just… you take your time to think and calm down but… but don't go and do something stupid with us because I love you and I am sorry."

There was a pure fear within Troy's tone that cut through to Gabriella. Her defensive stance dissipated, her arms dropping to her sides as she took a step towards him.

"You think I would take the time to think things through and calm down… and then break up with you?" Gabriella asked incredulously.

"Well, it's possible," Troy said sheepishly. "If you thought about it and then logically decided that this isn't working."

"I wanted to take time so that I wouldn't make an irrational and emotional decision… like over summer," Gabriella explained. "I was at the point where I was just feeling so agitated that I might have said something I'd regret, and just made the whole issue worse."

"Oh…"

"Troy, it's a fight. We've been going so well lately, it was bound to happen sooner or later," Gabriella pointed out.

"Why? It's not like fighting is an essential part of a healthy relationship," Troy remarked.

"No, but dealing with tension is." Gabriella sighed, and glanced at her watch again. "You should go."

"So… we're going to be okay?" Troy asked hopefully.

"Of course we're going to be okay!" Gabriella exclaimed, reaching out to touch his arm comfortingly. "I mean… it doesn't make it any less serious. It's still going to be so important that we talk about and work through this whole… issue. But don't be thinking that it can't be worked through, or that I don't want to work through it."

Troy swallowed, sensing the seriousness of her tone but nevertheless feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. "Okay."

She smiled. "Now go on, before your dad comes out in search of you."

Troy leaned forward hesitantly to kiss her. Gabriella allowed the kiss but pulled away after just a second.

"Good luck. Go win."

Troy jogged away, and took one final glance at Gabriella before re-entering the back entrance of the gym. As he reappeared in the locker room, he burst out with an all too familiar cheer.

"WHAT TEAM?!"

* * *

"And at full time we have the East High Wildcats taking out the Albuquerque Boys College Panthers, 72 – 56!"

The official announcement over the PA system was drowned out by the screaming, shouting fans. If there was one quality that could be associated with East High, it was _school spirit_. Even a mid season mid week game against a less than formidable opponent managed to attract an almost full house of supporters.

In the very back corner, Chad had sat watching the game forlornly. He loved basketball – he loved watching basketball, talking about basketball. But ultimately, he loved playing basketball. Watching his team play without him was the ultimate low of lows. A small part of him had tried to look at it as an instructional tool, as an opportunity to completely objectively observe his team mates play and to learn more about them. But more than anything, Chad had yearned to be on court.

Sitting beside Chad was a petite, dark haired girl, who was staring down at the on court celebrations.

"I think you should go talk to him, if my opinion counts for anything," Chad said quietly.

"Talk to who?" Gabriella replied, pretending to play dumb.

Chad sighed. "Gab, Bolton has a lot of flaws. _A lot_. People think he's perfect, but he's far from perfect."

"Believe me, I know that," Gabriella commented. "Your point…"

"Okay… but despite that… he is like, totally crazy about you. He worships the ground you walk on. Whatever the issues are – you can only work them out together, you can't work them out from afar. I learnt that with Taylor. Besides, I'm shitty enough at him for both you and I combined, there's no point in both of us feeling like we want to deck the guy."

Gabriella looked back down at the court where Troy was calmly shaking the opposition's hands, being the good sportsman that he was. His eyes had flickered in the direction of the stands more than once.

"You know what questions I want you to answer by tomorrow?" Gabriella queried.

"Yes. Go," Chad insisted.

Gabriella rose from her seat, made her way over to the aisle and began to walk down the stairs to courtside. Carefully, slowly, deliberately, she traversed across the court.

Troy had been in the midst of a brief conversation with Pablo and Xavier, praising both of their efforts throughout the match. He broke off mid sentence as he sensed Gabriella's presence behind him, and turned around. There she was standing, just a few feet away, watching him.

The few feet of space that separated them disappeared into oblivion, with each of the pair meeting midway and melting into a single entity. Lips crushed together in a desperate frenzy, desperate to make up for the lost day of normalcy, desperate to convince the other of the love they felt within.

* * *

Jack Bolton and the assistant coach were quickly going over their post match notes that they would present to the team once celebrations died down. Coach Joseph Lang approached, with a former colleague by his side.

"The boys played an impressive game tonight, Jack," Joseph Lang said to Jack Bolton. "Congratulations."

"Thank you Joseph," Jack said, shaking his hand.

"I'd like you to meet Craig Wilson," Jack said, motioning to his companion. "Craig is on the recruitment committee from New Mexico State University, he is also a former colleague of mine. Craig, this is Jack Bolton, East High Wildcats Coach and also the father of Troy Bolton."

Jack smiled warmly, keeping his internal excitement under wraps as he extended his hand. "Fantastic to meet you Craig. Your guys seem to be off to a great start this season."

Craig shook Jack's hand firmly. "Likewise with your own team. It was a great game tonight."

"There's still a lot of tightening to do, the team is young this year. But the experience we have on court is very influential experience."

"I'm sure Troy is doing an excellent job mentoring the younger guys," Joseph said.

"I was impressed by his performance last year at the south western regionals," Craig said. "There's a bit of buzz going on about him at the moment, working his way up the high school rankings."

Jack smiled. "He's a really talented kid with such incredible potential, he just gets better and better every day."

Joseph was craning his neck, looking up into the stands. "Is that Chad?"

Joseph Lang was familiar with Chad from a state basketball camp facilitated over the second half of summer which both Troy and Chad had attended. Jack looked where Joseph was gesturing to and nodded in confirmation.

"I informed you of… his situation," Jack said tactfully.

"I was a little disappointed to not get to see Chad in action tonight," Craig said smoothly. "However I am certain that one of my colleagues will be coming by a couple of times during play off season to take a look at his game."

"Would you like to have a chat to him?" Coach Bolton suggested.

"Well, it was Troy who I really wanted to talk to but looking over there, it seems he is a little preoccupied," Craig said with a knowing smile.

Jack looked up to see Troy and Gabriella in a far too zealous embrace for his liking. Jack coughed and averted his eyes. "I'm not sure whether I am offended more as a teacher or as his father."

"Boys will be boys," Joseph said with a grin.

"I can easily get a crowbar and pry him away from her," Jack said quickly.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind having a chat with Chad, before he heads off," Craig mused.

Coach Bolton nodded. "Sure, I'll just go grab him for you. Did you want to use my office or…"

"Let's keep it informal for now."

Jack scurried over to where Chad was engaged in a conversation with Ryan Evans.

"Danforth," Jack said gruffly.

Chad sighed and turned around. "Planning to rag on me, Coach?"

"No, I am not. There is a recruitment scout from New Mexico State here tonight and he was disappointed at being unable to see you play and wants to have a chat."

Chad's jaw dropped open. "Get out!"

"Go on!" Ryan urged. "Go talk to him."

Coach Bolton led Chad over to where the gentlemen were standing to the edge of the celebrations.

"Joseph, you remember Chad," Jack said.

"Hi Coach Lang," Chad greeted him, shaking his hand.

"And this is Craig Wilson," Jack continued. "Craig, Chad Danforth."

"Great to meet you, Mr. Wilson," Chad said politely.

"Likewise. I saw you play at the demonstration match at the state basketball camp over summer. You were rather impressive."

"Thank you, camp was an awesome experience, I really felt my game develop a lot just in those ten intense days."

"How did you find the game tonight?"

"I won't lie, it was rather depressing for me. Much prefer basketball from the court."

"Jack told me what happened with your suspension and I informed Craig," Coach Lang said.

"I was never too good with the math myself," Craig said with a smile. "You're on top of the situation though, I hope?"

Chad cleared his throat. "Well, I've acquired myself an excellent tutor and so fingers crossed that I can sort out the situation in time for next week."

"I would hope so. During playoffs a few of my colleagues will be checking out a few of the potential players we're looking to recruit for next season. Let's hope you've got things under wraps by then."

"Yes sir, they absolutely will be," Chad said vehemently.

"Excellent." Craig turned to Jack. "Perhaps it's time to crack out that crowbar. Could we use your office?"

"Certainly."

"Fantastic meeting you Chad, I look forward to talking to you again soon," Craig said, shaking Chad's hand.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella had over a day's worth of kissing to make up for. They had disappeared into a shady corner of the gym, kissing with desperate fervour. Gabriella's hands were raking through his hair, clutching to his shoulders, savouring his warmth. His own hands were dangerously close to crossing the line of appropriate behaviour whilst in eyeline of others, particularly faculty members and younger siblings. Gabriella tore herself away to take a couple of deep breaths.

"You do realise we are still going to talk about everything. We can't just fix it by kissing," she murmured.

Troy nodded and brought his forehead down to meet hers. "We will, we will. Tonight if you want. Deal with it sooner rather than later. Or start to deal with it anyway. That is, if you have some free time."

Gabriella nodded. "That would be good."

"Oh good! You came up for air!" Troy heard his dad's voice say from behind.

Troy spun around, spotting his father standing with folded arms. "Huh?"

"Troy, I need you to come with me," Jack said firmly.

Troy cleared his throat. "Umm, can it wait? I'm kinda…"

"No it cannot wait," Jack's no nonsense reply came. "Coach Lang brought along a recruiter from New Mexico State tonight and he wants to talk to you. They're in my office right now."

Troy glanced back at Gabriella. "My God, go!" she urged wildly. "I'll be hanging outside, okay?"

* * *

It took ten minutes of his life. Ten minutes of Troy's life for the first real, concrete, solid opportunity to have presented itself to him.

Troy emerged from his dad's office feeling somewhat dazed. His dad went to walk the guests out while Troy headed to take a quick shower before heading to the team meeting. Troy barely heard a word of the debrief, and he was very grateful for it being kept relatively short. The team was released, but before leaving, Troy approached his dad.

"Dad? Just letting you know that Gabriella and I are going to go grab something to eat."

"Well, you're having a good day, aren't you? Colleges throwing themselves at you and making up with your girlfriend?" Jack remarked.

"What do you mean, making up with my girlfriend?" Troy said suspiciously.

"Your team gossip like a bunch of girls while I am within earshot. I know you had a fight."

"Oh." Troy remained rooted.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Well go on then. You don't want to stand here and talk to me about it, go and do some sucking up."

Troy nodded, flashing his father an appreciative smile and strode away. As he reached closer to the exit, his pace picked up, in hopeful anticipation that she would be waiting like she said she would be. He found their group of friends all hanging out directly outside of the gym, talking and laughing.

"Umm… have you seen…" Troy began to say.

"She's waiting in the parking lot," Taylor replied quietly.

Troy shot Taylor a smile of gratitude and headed toward the parking lot. His pace picked up as he went along, his stride becoming a power walk and then verging on jogging. And surely enough, there she was, leaning against the rear of his beloved truck.

Gabriella spotted him approaching and sat up a little straighter.

"Well?!" she asked excitedly.

"Oh… it wasn't a big deal," Troy said casually. "We can talk about it later. We have more important things to talk about now. Did you want to go and grab dinner, or did you already eat?"

"I haven't eaten, we can grab food. But first, you have to tell me what happened!"

"No really, I meant it, we can talk about that any time," Troy insisted.

Gabriella knew exactly what Troy was doing, and wasn't buying it at all. She knew he was trying to do the 'right thing' and prioritise their relationship. "I'll decide I don't want to talk to you if you don't tell me," she threatened, with a coy smile.

"Is this one of those things where this is a trick, and you're saying that but what you really want me to do is to continue maintaining that it doesn't matter?" Troy asked dubiously. "Coz that's what you girls always seem to do, it's the whole reverse psychology thing. Yes means no, no means yes, except for when yes means yes."

Gabriella coughed. "Are you trying to create a new issue? Because I can't speak for 'you girls' but I can tell you that I don't have the faintest idea what you are talking about. Now tell me what happened? Did they make you an offer?" Gabriella demanded.

Troy scratched the back of his neck. "Umm kinda yeah."

"Kinda, yeah?"

"Full tuition. Housing subsidy."

Gabriella gasped. "That's incredible! Isn't it? You don't sound very excited."

"No it is incredible! It's more than incredible!" Troy said firmly. "I'm in a bit of a daze is all. I don't really know if New Mexico State is right for me but just having a real, tangible offer out there…"

"Is pretty damn incredible!"

"They've invited me to go up to the Las Cruces campus – where the basketball is based – and have like an overnight visit. They do this whole thing where you crash in a dorm with one of the guys and go to training and stuff."

"I am so proud of you, regardless of whether you want to accept it or not, this is so amazing."

In that single moment in time, it could almost be believed that nothing had happened, that twenty four hours earlier, Gabriella hadn't been feeling a surging annoyance that had exploded that day into bitter anger. Troy forgot about Chad, he forgot about Ryan – and instead, just seeing her genuine excitement – he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude that they just might move past the event relatively unscathed.

"You are what is amazing," he murmured, his hand reaching out to lightly stroke her soft cheek.

"Corny," Gabriella said coyly.

"You love it," Troy teased.

"Come on," Gabriella prompted. "You said something about food. I am starving."

* * *

"Zeke! Wait up!"

Zeke, Jason, Kelsi and Martha were also heading toward the parking lot. Zeke didn't need to turn around to recognise the voice who was calling him. He sighed and reluctantly turned.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Monica cleared her throat. "Can we talk?"

Zeke hesitated. "Umm… I'm kinda giving JC and Kels a lift home…"

"Oh," Monica said, clearly disappointed.

"Unless…" Zeke turned to Martha. "Could you…"

"Sure," she said quickly, nodding. "If that's what you want."

"Umm. Yeah."

"Right then, let's go guys," Martha said.

"See you tomorrow man," Jason said, exchanging a handshake.

Zeke waited until the three were out of earshot before turning to face Monica. His stance was solid, his arms folded, his expression harsh. "What do you want?"

"Well, we've been avoiding each other since Sunday. I thought I'd do the right thing and break the ice," Monica said, as though it were a perfectly natural thing.

"Umm… you made it pretty clear that you didn't want to pursue a relationship again. I didn't really think there was anything left to talk about."

Monica closed her eyes. "I love that you slept with me and then told me that you still spend time thinking about another girl who you've been claiming to be over – and you're trying to turn this on me."

"Well, does it occur to you that maybe a part of why I started thinking about Sharpay again was because you went and made out with your ex boyfriend?" Zeke shot back.

"I already explained that to you!"

"Do you want to get back together? Because… I kinda think it's over. We had a good time together but… it's over. Don't you think?"

Monica sighed. "I think it's over."

"Then why did you want to talk to me?" Zeke asked calmly.

"I… I… I don't know! Because… because we were really good friends before all of this! And this not talking… it's abnormal! It's not natural for me!" Monica attempted to explain.

"Yeah, we were really good friends… but a lot has happened since then. Did you really think we could agree that it was over and just go back to how things are?"

"A tiny part of me hoped," Monica said in a tiny voice.

"Give it time. I'm sure it'll all work out."

* * *

Troy and Gabriella were sitting across from one another at Sadie's Dining Room, a Mexican diner. Small talk had been made throughout the car ride and the ordering procedures. Now, as they sat sipping their drinks, silence had fallen upon them. Finally, it was Gabriella who began. She reached across the table, and took his hand in hers.

"I was so scared today Troy," Gabriella said quietly.

"Scared?" Troy queried.

"Scared… because of the way I felt, being angry at you. I don't even… it just… it was just like it set something off inside of me, something I never thought I'd…" Gabriella took a deep breath. "I don't know if my reaction was logical or… maybe it was amplified because everything is so stressful. But I can't express how real it was. This isn't a case of like hormones or…"

Troy nodded. "I know. I know it was real. It _is_ real. And we're dealing with it this time. We're not gonna let what happened… you know. It's not happening again."

"No. It's not," Gabriella agreed vehemently.

"Okay. So… I don't even really know what happened. I mean… so I got annoyed at you for tutoring him which is when you expressed that you were narky at me for the way I'd been dealing with the situation. Then I stuck my foot in my mouth and brought up the whole… you know… Ryan thing."

"That's a very simplistic summary but… yeah," Gabriella agreed.

"So for you is the big issue the Ryan thing, or is it both things?" Troy asked.

Gabriella paused, before answering decisively. "Both. It was the combination of the two together that set me off."

"Okay, can I just quash the Ryan thing right now? I mean… I don't feel the same angst about it that I felt before. He used to just irritate me. On this really weird level, every time he was around, talking to you or not – I just felt messed up," Troy confessed. "But, I don't feel like that any more, please believe that. I won't deny that on some level I still feel a bit wary about it all, but that's just me, Gabriella. I have a green eyed streak. I don't think it's something I can change. It's just a flaw of mine that you kinda have to take with the package. It's not out of control, there are heaps of guys at school who I get a bit wary of when I see them checking you out, or if some smart guy is talking to you about… you know…. Math. And being all intellectually impressive."

"Then why did you say it?" Gabriella asked. "Because… I'm a bit believer in the things that we subconsciously think and feel coming out in the heat of the moment."

Troy sighed. "At the time, I don't even think I knew what I was saying. I remember the moment it came out of my mouth and thinking how it sounded and that I didn't mean it that way. It was like in that split second that it took you to react, I was a split second ahead and I knew it was coming. But I really don't think that I meant it that way, like saying that it was Ryan who you were siding with. It was more… just about you siding with _anyone_ against me. Had it been Taylor who had been on my ass that morning, I probably would have said exactly the same thing, just Taylor instead of Ryan. You know what I mean?"

"Okay…" Gabriella said slowly, interpreting his words. "So… you're saying that you were annoyed with me for not… agreeing with you automatically?"

Troy knew how it sounded, he could hear the dubiousness within her tone. He picked up the salt shaker that was on the table, and began to examine the granules of salt that were caught in the rim. "Umm… well… maybe?"

"At least you were honest," Gabriella said wryly.

Troy placed the shaker back onto the table. "I guess for me… a part of a relationship is that you support the other one," he attempted to explain to justify his thoughts.

"Regardless of whether they're right or wrong?"

"Well…"

She sat further forward. "It's not that I don't support you Troy. On Sunday morning you got so angry at Chad that you nearly broke his nose and left another bunch of injuries. If it hadn't been for the intervention of your team mates, you guys would have literally have beaten each other into a bloody pulp. I don't agree with violence, and on a certain level it scared me seeing that anger within you. What did I do? I held the icepack to your eye, I bandaged your hand. On Monday when you found out about Chad's exam, I distracted you through relatively unconventional methods. Despite the fact that deep down, I just want the two of you to be able to sit and talk about the problem – just like we are now," Gabriella pointed out.

"Okay, a – guys don't do that. And b – it's not like there is one single clear cut problem to sit and discuss."

Gabriella nodded. "I get that. Which is what makes being an observer to all of it so hard. I get that it's complicated and there's just so much going on but… at the crux of it all, he's your best friend. I would give my right arm to have a friendship lasting back to preschool. Be shitty with each other, fine. But you need to be at a place where you can at least _acknowledge_ that there are two sides. He's there. He's the one who convinced me to talk to you tonight," Gabriella added the last sentence casually, not able to resist the opportunity to throw in a small attempt at trying to move the boys towards a place of being able to mediate the situation.

"He did?" Troy asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"Oh."

"You know, I could have lied. I could have told you that I am angry at him too and that I only offered to help him because I knew you needed him in your team. But I didn't. I told you the truth. A part of me offered because yes you're my boyfriend and I love you," Gabriella said softly, squeezing his hand. "But… more than that, I offered because Chad is my friend. And yeah he has screwed up royally but... just because someone screws up, doesn't mean you abandon them. You of all people should get that."

"I _do_ get that. And I appreciate that you were honest with me about it and you know what, it's just so ridiculous this whole thing. We were arguing about stuff that I said which… I didn't even really mean. Yeah it's kinda weird you tutoring him when I'm not talking to him but… it doesn't upset me. I don't know why I made a big deal out of it. It was almost like you said, that we just had to fight sooner or later about something. Just one of the many things that I love about you is that you are so open and willing to find the good within people, to see their good qualities. So I wouldn't expect anything less from you than for you to be trying to understand his side."

"So are you going to have an issue that I am going to keep tutoring him?" Gabriella asked.

Troy shook his head. "No. I never really did have an issue. It just… it really was a shock. And I'm just stressed out of my mind and it was like I wanted to still be yelling at him or maybe at Ryan for what he said in the morning… and instead it lashed out at you."

"I believe you."

"But are you going to have a problem with me and Chad not just making some miraculous recovery from all this?"

Gabriella paused. "I won't lie, I think it's ridiculous to not just sit down and at least try to talk about it. But if you don't want to talk to him then… okay. That's your decision and of course I support you in that."

"And do you believe me when I say that I really am trying to deal with all of my messed up crap to do with the Ryan thing?"

"Hey, no ones perfect. You were bound to have a flaw eventually," Gabriella teased.

"You're not perfect either missy," Troy reprimanded with a grin. "You know you um… you… umm…" Troy scratched the back of his neck, searching his brain for an imperfection. Finally, he hit jackpot. "Oh! You are a terrible driver."

"Only because no one will teach me to drive!" Gabriella protested, slapping him playfully on the arm.

A comfortable silence fell upon the table. Troy reached across, taking Gabriella's hand in his and entwining their fingers. His thumb gently stroked across her skin.

"We're gonna be okay, aren't we?" Troy said softly.

Gabriella nodded, and reached out with her free hand to enclose it over their already joined hands. "Yeah, yeah we are."

* * *

Meanwhile, as Troy and Gabriella were talking through their problems; Ryan Evans had bypassed the post match group loiter out the front of the school and headed straight home. His parents and sister were having their post dinner wine and cheese in the dining room.

"Hi dad, mom," Ryan said cheerfully as he came into the room. He kissed his mother on the cheek in greeting.

"How was the game, son?" Vance Evans asked.

"Really great. Wildcats won easily."

"Excellent."

"Uh… you might be interested to hear that there was a recruitment scout from NMS there," Ryan said casually. "I'm pretty sure a deal has been put on the table for Troy, they had a meeting after the game. He didn't tell anyone the details but Zeke and Jason said that Coach Bolton seemed pretty pumped when he and Troy came out of the meeting."

Vance narrowed his eyes. "Interesting. Thanks for that, son."

"No problem."

"Sweetheart, cook prepared some extra food if you want it," his mother informed him.

"Maybe a little later. I have to go work on an essay now, it's due on Friday."

Chad's suspension had scared Ryan a little. He was just barely scraping through a couple of his own subjects, and the very exam that Chad had failed, Ryan had only passed by a few marks. It wouldn't exactly look impressive for the class president to be failing anything. Ryan was being strategic and time efficient with his decision to eat later. If he ate now, he would sit at the table and be forced to engage in small talk and to answer further enquires about his college applications. This way, he could avoid the small talk, get straight into the study, and when he was next ready for a break he could pop downstairs, grab the food and take it back up to his room.

When a knock came at his door only fifteen minutes later, Ryan knew it had to be Sharpay. He called her in, and sure enough the door swung open and there she was.

"Hey," Ryan greeted her.

"We have to practice our routine some time tonight," Sharpay informed him, striding straight into the room and plonking herself down into his arm chair in the corner of the room.

He knew that she referring to the routine they were competing with in the New Mexico Youth Dance-Off. Ryan nodded, and closed the door behind her and sat down at his desk, spinning the chair around to face her. "Sure. Especially since there's only a few weeks until the competition. I just really want to finish up this draft, I should only need another half hour or so."

"Is that for your literature class?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, Gabriella said if I e-mailed it to her tonight then she should be able to look it over for me. Then again, she said that today when she was actively avoiding Troy. And I'm pretty sure the two are currently making up or… making out," Ryan quipped.

He watched his sister carefully, gauging her reaction.

Sharpay knew Ryan was watching her, and managed to smile brightly. "That's good for them. And for the musical."

Ryan snorted. "Your fake enthusiasm there was astounding."

Sharpay gave him a sheepish look. After their discussion the night before, it seemed a useless expenditure of energy to even attempt to maintain a guise. "No I guess… it is good. Troy's a good guy. He deserves to be happy. And _she_ makes him happy. For some reason which is completely beyond me." Sharpay couldn't help but add the final sentence.

"So you're perfectly happy to use Gabriella to be your finance person for the drama club but you're still not willing to admit that she's a decent person?" Ryan queried.

Sharpay sat forward, arms folded defensively. "Okay umm firstly, _you_ are the one who facilitated the whole finance director thing. And secondly… when have I ever suggested that Gabriella Montez isn't a 'decent' person? I just have questioned who is more ideally suited to Troy."

"Well that's not up to you to determine, that's up to Troy," Ryan reminded her.

"Thank you for rubbing that in," Sharpay said darkly.

"You know, there are heaps of guys who would give their right arm to go out with you," Ryan pointed out. He rolled forward in his chair, closer to Sharpay. "There are lots of guys from our acting classes who totally check you out, oh and you know Henry, the son of dad's business partner? I think he's into you. Not to mention a heap of guys at school. Especially a certain individual who you just so happened to be all cosied up to on Saturday night."

"Ryan, do you recall that I was _drunk_ on Saturday night?" Sharpay said bitterly.

"You don't remember hanging with Zeke?"

"I'm pretty sure I was moaning about Troy to him," Sharpay said flatly.

"And then came dangerously close to making out with him!"

"You said it yourself, dangerously close, didn't actually happen. Besides, word on the street is that he and Monica wound up fooling around again."

"Shar, I just want you to be happy is all," Ryan said quietly.

"And you think a boyfriend is the key to happiness?" Sharpay said incredulously. "Please! I'm starring in the musical – I know Kelsi _says_ that it centres around six key characters, but we all know that it is really about Esmeralda. Juilliard auditions are just around the corner. There's a whole world out there, a world to see my name in lights. A world of fame and fortune and celebrity parties and movie premieres. I want it all, Ryan, and no silly boy here in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is going to be defining toward achieving my goals."

* * *

Parked by the curb outside of the Montez household, Troy and Gabriella existed within their own personal, private bubble. After eating dinner, the couple had ordered a dessert to share and drink refills, and remained talking for another hour. Ranging from the serious examination of the tension of the past few days, going back to the issues of summer, and to the every day simplicities and occurrences of life. With the talking now pushed aside, a simple good night kiss had become a whole lot more. Gabriella threw out every rule she had about maintaining orderly conduct when there was distinct possibility her mother was spying out the window. She didn't bat Troy's hands away at they desperately squeezed and toyed with her breasts. However when a hand dropped, landed on her denim clad thigh, and inched its way up, Gabriella was forced to utilise some form of self control.

"Troy!" she gasped. "We… we have to stop. We're in your truck in front of my mother's house. Remember?"

"We can change that. Go drive back to that darkened street," Troy suggested. The straining erection within his jeans was doing all talking.

"Um, sure, and when my mom realises that we drove here, parked for a while and then drove elsewhere…"

"Okay… then I'm gonna come up to your balcony," Troy murmured, and leaned forward to kiss her again. Gabriella pulled back, not allowing their lips to connect.

"Troy!" she hissed. "You can't!"

"Are you telling me you don't want me to?" Troy demanded coyly. He leaned over and pressed his lips to her neck, kissing softly before nipping and sucking lightly.

Gabriella involuntarily moaned, however managed to respond. "What I _want_ is irrelevant!"

Troy was determined. There was no way that they come overcome a fight, have two seriously hot make out sessions in one night and then leave him to go home and 'take care' of himself. It wasn't happening. So he persisted with his argument.

"It's 10:05pm Wednesday. Your mom is watching that… what's it called?… the one by the author of _Sex and the City._"

Gabriella was impressed on two levels – not only that Troy knew that _Sex and the City_ was based on a book, but that he knew his mother's TV habits. "It's called _Lipstick Jungle _and it just so happens that I watch it too."

"But you've missed the first five minutes so she will have recorded it for you," Troy pointed out. "You can't stop me from coming up. You can send me away if you want but I will be coming up. Okay?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, sensing the determination within his tone – and viewing the determination within his crotch.

"You're wasting your time, but you're right, I can't stop you from climbing up."

Troy's face broke into a wild grin. He grabbed her and pressed a hard kiss to her lips before pulling away.

"Go on then," he prompted. "I'm just gonna park around the corner then jog back. I'll see you in a minute."

Gabriella shook her head as she opened the car door. "You're crazy, Wildcat."

Surely enough, by the time Gabriella went inside, briefly talked with her mother, confirmed her television show was recording, excused herself to study, stopped by the bathroom and then entered her bedroom – Troy was already standing on her balcony. She rolled her eyes, but was smiling coyly. She dropped her bag on the floor before she stepped forward to pull back the balcony door.

Troy didn't speak. He didn't say a word. Instead, he chose to allow his actions to make his argument. He stepped into her room and closed the balcony door behind him. He then dropped his hands to Gabriella's waist to guide her to move a little closer to him. Troy lowered his lips down to meet hers, with a kiss that was firm and yet tender, deep and yet sweet. She leaned up into his kiss, her arms wrapping around the back of his neck to toy softly with the hair on the back of his neck. Tongues didn't battle or duel, they performed a playful dance that was familiar but never boring.

Gabriella broke away and pulled in a deep breath through her nose, attempting to regain a sense of control. She stared deeply into the pair of bright blue eyes she had grown to love and adore and cherish so. She turned around and walked across the room. Very slowly, very deliberately, she reached out and flicked the lock on her door. When she next looked at him, the look of pure desire and need within her eye was enough to tell him that he had succeeded within his mission.

* * *

"There are so many things that I would rather be doing right now," Troy grumbled, his head leaning forward to rest on the dining table.

"Well it just so happens that we have a test first period tomorrow morning and so regardless of what you would like to be doing, you have the luxury of having us help you study," Taylor said. She hit the table beside him. "Now sit up."

"Excuse me for being tired. My so called Thursday afternoon off has been spent rehearsing and training, not a single spare moment for me," Troy said with a pout. "Taylor, you have been so incredibly helpful but I think that you can go home. And meanwhile, since Gabriella's mom is working late tonight, she and I can go study in peace and quiet at…"

"I have not been useful thus far as we have been here for about three minutes and you're already whinging. And yes, I am aware that Gabriella's mom is working late and since our test tomorrow is for _physics_ not _biology_, I will be remaining right here to prevent you from somehow manipulating your genius girlfriend into going back to her house."

"I do have some willpower, Taylor, it's not like I wanted you to come study with us for that purpose," Gabriella said with a blush.

"Wouldn't you think that the science of matter and its motion, the science of energy and charge – would have a whole lot to do with a lack of parental guidance," Troy said lewdly.

"Is he always this horny while you're trying to study?" Taylor asked Gabriella, clearly exasperated.

"Umm… actually no. Maybe it's you being here," Gabriella teased.

The simultaneous look of horror on both Troy and Taylor's faces were enough to convince Troy that it was time to stop whining and be serious.

"Okay. I'm done complaining. Let's do the study thing," Troy declared. "Hit me with a question."

Gabriella seized the opportunity, immediately reading one of her sample short answer questions aloud. "Thermodynamics studies the effects of changes in _what _upon _what_?"

Troy stared back blankly. "Huh?"

"There are _three_ things which if you change, they will impact upon something else," Gabriella elaborated.

Troy cleared his throat. "Well. Umm…"

"Okay… thermodynamics studies the effects of changes in what three things upon physical systems?"

"Physical systems…" Troy repeated.

"Troy!" Taylor exclaimed. "This is a definition. You don't even need to _understand _it, you can just memorise it."

"I'm not good with memorising stuff," Troy said defensively. "I want to understand it."

A crash sounded from the front corridor, with the sound of the front door flying open.

"MRS B! MRS B!"

"Chad?!" Troy said questioningly.

All three of them jumped up and spun around, seeing Chad scramble into the living area.

"Is your mom here?!" Chad demanded wildly.

Chad's tone was so wild, so out of control, that Troy completely forgot in that moment to make a snarky remark about his presence. "Yeah she's right…."

"MRS B!" Chad shouted, not even waiting for the answer.

"What the hell is going on?" Lucille Bolton asked as she rushed into the room. She saw the distraught look on Chad's face. "Chad honey, what's wrong?"

"It's Jayme! She fell and broke her leg or something, we called an ambulance and they said it'll be up to an hour and she's in so much pain and I didn't know what to do and I don't have any phone credit and Jayme's cell battery died and our house phone wasn't working and then my car wouldn't start so I just ran here and…"

"You left her alone?" Troy asked incredulously.

"No!" Chad snapped. "How stupid do you think I am? Her friend is there."

"Okay I'm coming. Just give me a minute to get some supplies and…"

Troy cut off his mother. "You go, I'll go get it all and follow you."

Lucille nodded and immediately grasped Chad by the arm, leading him toward the garage door.

"Bring my purse, it's in my room by the bed; also get the first aid kit from under the bathroom sink," she called back to Troy.

"Got it."

"Come on," Lucille prompted Chad, and grabbed her car keys from the hook by the garage door.

"Won't be long," Troy yelled after them, and immediately bound up the stairs. Gabriella went straight into motion, retrieving Troy's car keys, wallet and cell phone that he had dumped on the bench.

* * *

Taylor, Gabriella and Troy were literally only minutes behind Lucille. The front door was wide open, and they immediately saw the scene of the accident. Jayme was lying at the bottom of the stairs, whimpering in pain. Lucille was kneeling by her side. Jayme's friend Brenda was standing back, looking on, rather distraught. Chad was pacing backwards and forwards, more distressed than both Jayme and Brenda combined. Troy dropped his mother's purse by the door and Gabriella delivered the first aid kit to her side.

"I called Chad as soon as it happened!" Brenda insisted.

"You did a good job honey," Lucille said. "You both were very brave. Chad, could you grab a cushion from the couch for me?" Lucille asked calmly, trying to keep Chad busy, make him feel useful. "Brenda, whereabouts do you live sweetheart?"

"Just up the street," she responded in a tiny voice.

Lucille glanced toward the worried onlooking friends. Gabriella immediately stepped forward. "I can take her."

"No! I want to stay help!" Brenda insisted.

"The best help you can be is to go home so that we know that you're okay. The ambulance will be here soon and you won't be able to come."

"I want to know that Jayme will be okay!"

"Tell you what, you can put your phone number into my cell phone and I will call you later on and let you know what is happening, okay?" Gabriella suggested, and took the girl by the hand.

While Lucille tended to Jayme, Troy turned in an attempt to deal with Chad's useless pacing.

"Where's your mom?" Troy asked. "I'll try to call her."

"No! Don't!" Chad panicked. "She's at work, you can't call her there!"

"She works behind a desk with a phone in front of her, I'm sure that…"

"No! She's at her other job! I tried to call her there last week and they got angry and were gonna fire her!" Chad insisted.

"Her other job?" Taylor asked, confused.

"She's also working at this restaurant waitressing. Don't call her! She's finishing a bit earlier tonight, I'll call her later on."

Chad was so distraught that he was beyond even attempting to cover up the truth, he just put it out there straight, and didn't even pause to contemplate their reaction. Troy and Taylor exchanged a surprised, 'did you know about this' glance, however a request from Lucille prevented any further discussion.

"Can someone see if there is any ice in the freezer?" Lucille asked. "I want some ice chips for her to suck on."

"I'll do it," Taylor volunteered.

Taylor bound into the kitchen, wanting to be useful. She quickly located some ice cubes and chiselled into it with a knife, breaking it into smaller chips. On the way back, Taylor glanced toward the kitchen bench and halted in her stride, with her eyes falling upon the sheath of paperwork over the bench. The stand out was the one with a bright pink post it note and Chad's scribbled note to his mother that it was overdue. Taylor picked it up. It was a phone bill. Yes, the phone was 'broken' indeed_._ The pieces were putting themselves together slowly and Taylor wasn't liking where her brain was going. She tore herself away and returned to the bottom of the stairs with a cup of ice chips.

Gabriella returned shortly, having jogged most of the way back.

"Chad, would you mind grabbing me a drink?" Lucille asked, still trying to keep him busy.

"We don't really have much. That's what I was doing, I was doing the grocery shopping. Shit, I just abandoned that trolley in the middle of the store… they're gonna have to put it all away," he pondered aloud.

"It's all good, from what you tell me everyone who works there just stands around doing nothing. Give them something to do," Gabriella said.

"Water is fine Chad, just a glass of water would be lovely," Lucille requested. She really didn't care about the drink she just wanted him to do something other than pace around.

It took Chad literally thirty seconds, tearing back from the kitchen with the glass. He didn't want to be away from Jayme a moment longer than necessary. Lucille glanced around, seeing her son watching the once again pacing Chad with a worried expression, Taylor with her arms folded, watching Jayme with a scared expression on her face. It was Gabriella who appeared the most lucid.

"Gabriella honey, can you just sit next to Jayme for a minute," Lucille requested. "I'm just going to make a couple of phone calls."

"Our house phone is broken, remember?" Chad said.

"It's okay, I'll use my cell phone."

"Jayme honey, if you feel more pain or more discomfort or different in any way, I want you to tell Gabriella, okay?"

"I feel a bit woozy," Jayme said straight away.

"Talk to her, keep her awake," Lucille instructed from where she was on the phone.

"How did this happen JJ?" Chad asked, aghast.

"I was cleaning and I fell down the stairs."

"How on earth do you fall down the stairs while cleaning?" Troy asked.

"I was standing on the banister to try to clean the light cover things, but I couldn't reach and… and that's when I fell."

"Why were you cleaning the light cover things?" Chad demanded.

"To help you!"

"To help me?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Coz you're always so busy, doing our grocery shopping and cooking for us and cleaning and everything. And working more. I know you think I'm just some dumb kid who doesn't get this stuff but I'm not, I know that you have to do it, I know that mom has to work lots to buy food and stuff since David left. And I know that you are working more to help her. And then all because you've been busy looking after us, you had that fight with Taylor and then you failed that exam and they kicked you off the basketball team and…"

"I got _temporarily suspended_ not kicked off. And how the hell do you know all this stuff?" Chad took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter."

"I felt bad for you! I was telling Brenda about it and she said that I could do some extra stuff other than my chores to help you."

"Shit Jayme, next time you feel like being helpful, try doing the dishes or the laundry, kid."

"I did! Go look, I ran the dishwasher and tidied up in the kitchen and everything. And then I was gonna do the laundry but I don't really know how. So I vacuumed in the lounge room. And then I thought I'd clean somewhere that you never get the chance to clean. Like… like the light covers."

Chad released a withdrawn sigh. "Thank you Jayme, I appreciate what you did so much. And hey, if you hadn't been such a klutz and fallen, maybe I woulda had time to do some homework tonight, huh?"

The sound of sirens interrupted the moment.

"I think the paramedics are here," Gabriella said quietly.

Chad ran to the front door and waited impatiently for the team to trot from the vehicle into the house. Lucille proceeded to engage with them, using terminology that was far over Chad's understanding of the situation. He just knew that his sister had hurt herself and it was his fault. He was listening and watching intently, and yet didn't observe or understand a single thing. It was only when they finally had Jayme on a stretcher ready to transport that Chad clicked into gear.

"Okay then. Chad, you go with Jayme in the ambulance, okay?" Lucille said. "And I'll drive, I'll be right behind you."

He nodded numbly. "Can you lock my house up?"

Lucille nodded. "It's all taken care of, go honey."

Chad dashed down the walkway, and Lucille turned to the other three. "Do you want to come to the hospital also? You don't have to but…"

"I want to," Taylor said firmly.

Troy and Gabriella nodded silently in agreement.

"Um, you go now. I'll drive us in a minute, we will lock up the house and everything," Troy said.

Lucille nodded, and grabbed her belongings and dashed to her car.

Leaving three shell shocked friends – two a whole lot more dumbfounded than the other.

Troy turned to Taylor, and blurted out, "Did you…"

"Not a clue. You didn't know?"

"No! I had no idea."

Suddenly – Troy knew. He knew that she knew, the pieces of the puzzle coming together. He turned slowly to stare at Gabriella.

Gabriella was silent, staring at the floor. She was wringing her hands, eyes darting from the bottom step to the glass from the ice chips to the pair of shoes at the foot of the stairs.

"You knew."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Dum dum dum...

It's so fascinating reading all of your reviews, it's like there are factions of people who are actively taking different sides within the conflicts. Just about the TxG conflict resolution which occurred here - just note that ultimately, Gabriella acknowledges that the foundation of her annoyance was invalid, since she was annoyed at Troy for reasons he can't fully comprehend. Also note that this isn't just done and dusted, rather that it just raises issues that may or may not resurface at a later date within the relationship; depending upon whether they learn from the situation.

Anyway... thoughts? Comments? Queries? I seriously really enjoy reading what you guys have to say, it's important that I know what you're thinking because then I know if I am addressing issues/themes accurately, if I am balancing things and... just a whole lot of stuff.

-Dani xo


	47. Chapter 46

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make no money from it. Really.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Kudos to Martin (_emptrajan)_ for the preview/feedback... :-)

**

* * *

****Chapter 46**

"You knew."

There was a momentary silence in the room. There was no need for Gabriella to respond. Her silence equated to an admission that it was in fact the case that she knew. Troy spoke slowly, as he worked out the implications of his sudden realisation.

"You knew about his family and… and everything. You knew why he was acting all weird, you knew why he failed the test and…"

He trailed off, not needing to continue. For Troy, it was all making sense now. It made sense why Gabriella had been so suddenly adamant that he should mediate with Chad. It made sense that she had become so intent upon tutoring him. It made sense that she had gotten so upset about Troy's treatment. The intent gaze back was enough for him to know it was true. However Taylor stood still, staring at Gabriella. She needed to hear the actual confirmation in words. In that moment, it dawned upon Gabriella just what a position she had been put in. It wasn't just that she had hid the truth from her best friend and from her boyfriend. It was that she knew, and not then. That it wasn't Chad's best friend or his former girlfriend that knew – it was Gabriella.

"Yes. But firstly… realise that he didn't tell me. I found out. And secondly, I haven't known long, I only found out on Monday. I offered to help him study and it all sorta.. came out," she said, trying to remain calm, trying to make them realise that she wasn't in a position of wrong doing. Neither of them had spoken, and in Gabriella's mind she associated their silence with anger. "Please… please don't be mad at me," Gabriella begged. "I understand that you think I should have told you but…"

"I'm not mad at you," Taylor said quietly. "It isn't your role to keep us in the loop. He should have told us," Taylor said quietly.

"It wasn't up to you to tell us, it was up to him," Taylor said quietly.

Gabriella nodded. She knew this was the truth, and it didn't surprise her that Taylor understood that. She looked at Troy, trying to read whether or not he too believed that. He gave her a tight smile.

"Taylor's right," Troy finally said, his voice a little strained. "If he wanted to keep it from us, that's on him, not you."

"He… he has reasons. I don't really know all about the details but…" Gabriella trailed off.

"I can't believe I didn't realise…" Taylor breathed. "You really didn't know either?"

Troy shook his head, looking equally dumbstruck. "I had absolutely no idea. He said his mom was really upset about David leaving but… I didn't know about any of the rest of it."

"I should have known. I knew things were tight before he left them. It…. now that I know, it seems so obvious," Taylor said, the guilt already eating at her. "And the whole time, I just… I was blind to it."

"We all were," Gabriella said consolingly.

"I feel like I'm just such a terrible person," Taylor exclaimed. "The whole time, I never thought that there was something really wrong. I mean… it still isn't right that he never told me. But… I just really thought it was all about me."

"There's no point in doing the 'if only I'd known' thing now," Troy said glumly.

"He should have told me!" Taylor exclaimed. "Why didn't he tell me? Have you asked about that?"

"Umm…" Gabriella stalled. The truth was that she and Chad hadn't really talked about the details of the scenario. Rather it was Ryan who had provided the knowledge Gabriella had. "No, Chad and I haven't really talked about it," she finally said. "I just… I found out and it wasn't really relevant. What was relevant was that it provided the context for so much and so I really felt like I wanted to help him out. Hence the tutoring."

"If he'd asked me, I would have helped him even without knowing the context," Taylor grumbled.

Troy and Gabriella both sensed the hint of resentment in Taylor's tone.

"Look, we'd better go," Troy said, trying to remain calm and neutral. "Gabriella, could you check the back door?"

* * *

By the time Taylor, Gabriella and Troy arrived at the hospital, they were informed by a calm Lucille in the waiting room that Jayme was off having X-Rays. Chad was pacing around nervously.

"Chad, she's going to be fine. It's likely just a greenstick fracture," Lucille said, her tone soothing and placating.

"But she's all woozy, what if she banged her head so hard she has like brain damage or something?" Chad asked a little wildly

"I very much so doubt that. She was likely just in shock," Lucille's knowledgeable reply came. "She was rather coherent in talking about it so I'm sure she's fine."

"Chad…" Taylor began to say.

"If you're gonna say something about the stuff Jayme was saying, and which Gabriella has likely since confirmed for you – just don't, okay?" Chad said dismissively. "Not now. I can't deal with it now."

"I wasn't going to say anything about it," Taylor responded quietly. "I was going to ask if you would like me to get you anything. A can of soft drink, a coffee…"

"Oh. Umm no thanks, I'm good," Chad said, a little sheepish about snapping at her. He turned back to Lucille. "Why is this taking so long? It's a freaking x-ray!"

"There may have been a queue in radiology. As far as basic breakages go, they tend to get shoved down the list," Lucille attempted to explain.

Chad let out a disgruntled sigh.

"Chad, come sit down," Gabriella prompted, taking him by the hand and attempting to pull him in the direction of the chairs.

"I'd rather stand," Chad said resolutely.

Gabriella nodded and took a step back. Troy's arm slung across her shoulder consolingly, with her arm clutching to his waist.

"Was that hatstand in the hall new?" Troy asked. His question was seemingly random but really it was an attempt to distract Chad.

"Not really. New-ish," Chad said slowly. "My auntie gave it to us when they moved and had all this stuff they wanted to get rid of."

"Interesting. It looked good. Your mom always said the hallway was a bit bare."

"Since you haven't been over in forever, you wouldn't know that it's been there for a while," Chad said, his tone slightly accusatory.

Troy summoned the willpower within to not take the bait, and didn't respond.

"I thought you stayed over at Chad's after your game against the Knights?" Lucille commented.

Gabriella's hand that was resting on Troy's waist gripped to his side, her eyes widening a little. Yes, Lucille _thought_ that was where Troy was that night…

"That's right!" Troy said, attempting to telepathically threaten bodily harm to Chad if he didn't go along with it. "That wasn't that long ago."

It took Chad a moment to realise what was going on. He cleared his throat. "Uh… well…. we had the stand then. I guess you just didn't notice it. Maybe we came in through the back door or something."

"Yeah, I think we did."

If there was one flaw that Gabriella Montez possessed – it was that she was a terrible liar. Even when she hadn't been the one to say the words, as she stood beside Troy and the words passed through his mouth, Gabriella was frozen, unable to appear completely natural. So between Chad's momentary look of confusion, Gabriella's stiffness and Lucille's suspicious motherly intuition – Lucille knew something was up. However she had the discretion to not say anything there and then.

"Chad, I have some of my algebra notes with me if you want to go over some stuff?" Gabriella offered brightly.

Chad let out a slight chortle. "I appreciate the sentiment of trying to distract me, but obviously you don't know me very well if algebra is your idea of how to do it."

Troy took a step forward, removing his arm from around Gabriella. "Chad?" he ventured.

Chad looked up. "What?"

Troy clamped his hand onto Chad's shoulder, giving a manly and yet comforting squeeze. "Dude… it's gonna be okay. It's all gonna work out."

Troy's comment was loaded. _It_ being his sister. _It_ being his family. _It_ being school. _It_ being basketball. _It_ being their friendship.

Chad swallowed and nodded, understanding the layers. "Yeah. I hope so."

* * *

Taylor leaned forward from her seat in the back of Troy's truck. "You know, I broke my arm when I was nine, it was kind of exciting. I got to have a purple cast."

"Yeah, Chad had a red cast when he broke his leg," Troy recalled. He glanced at his blindspot before flicking on his indicator to overtake the car in front of him.

"I've never broken a bone," Gabriella mused.

"Never?" Taylor said in surprise, glancing at her friend.

"Guys, you don't have to do this," Chad said quietly.

Troy glanced over at where Chad was sitting in the front passenger seat. "Do what?"

"Pretend that everything is cool, that it's normal. It's not. Just because my sister is a clumsy idiot doesn't change any of… it doesn't change anything."

"What, you'd rather we ragged on you?" Troy asked.

"No. But cut the false cheerfulness," Chad requested glumly. "I'd rather we just turned the radio up for the last two minutes of the drive back to my place. In fact, let's just do that."

Taylor sat forward a little further, her hand tentatively touching Chad's arm. "Chad, I can't speak for Troy but I kinda feel like if anything, you have the right to be pissed at us."

Chad folded his arms across his chest. "At this exact moment I'm too pissed at myself to have any room left to be pissed at anyone else."

"Why are you pissed at yourself?" Gabriella asked in disbelief. "Chad, Jayme's going to be fine. Really. You broke your leg once, didn't you? You know it's really not that big of a deal. It will even be novel for a while. She'll get a couple of days off school, she'll get lots of attention. If your mom was worried, she wouldn't have insisted that you go home to study," Gabriella said.

"She was probably pissed at me for letting it happen and didn't want to have to look at me," Chad remarked.

"That's ridiculous man. Your mom is cool, she's not like that," Troy pointed out.

Troy turned into Chad's street.

"Home sweet home," Chad said with false cheerfulness.

"So you're going to go in and study, right?" Gabriella said. "You know what questions I wanted you to…"

"Yes, Gabriella," Chad interrupted. "I know."

"And you're going to call me if you want help with anything, anything at all. If you're struggling with something, don't just give up. You call me. Understand?"

Chad rolled his eyes. "Yes. You've gone through this about ten thousand and eighteen times."

Troy pulled up curb side at Chad's house.

"I'm serious though. There's no point in going in and mooching around because you're worried about Jayme. You have to study Chad. This could be your whole future on the line. If you don't…"

"And make that ten thousand and nineteen times," Chad interrupted. "Gabriella, I know all of this. I will study. And I'll call if I need help with anything."

She nodded, and gave him a small smile. "Okay. Good."

Chad cleared his throat. "Umm… so thanks for the help this afternoon."

"Hey… anytime. You know that, right?" Taylor said comfortingly.

A part of him wanted to get out of the car and just not say anything more. But a larger part of him, the part that was relieved that it was all out there, the part that relieved that not only was it out there but that neither Troy nor Taylor had turned against him for lying – that part of him knew that he had to acknowledge it. Eyes cast downward, he spoke slowly, deliberately, evenly.

"For the record… I'm sorry I didn't tell you what was going on. It wasn't…. it wasn't about me not wanting to tell people what was up. It was complicated, and it just got more complicated and it went way too far. But… it was never personal."

Sorry.

Five letter, two syllables. One of the hardest words in the English language. Admitting he was sorry out loud was harder than the act had been itself.

"It's cool man. It's all gonna be cool, really. You umm… you did what you had to do," Troy said.

Troy's tone was stiff and forced – he still didn't really understand any of it. But it was evidence of how sometimes it just takes something bigger to happen to push aside the drama. In that moment, none of what had gone wrong mattered. All that mattered was the years of friendship at the foundation; that Chad was his friend; and that in that moment Chad looked utterly broken.

Chad nodded stiffly. "Okay then… thanks again. And I'll see you's tomorrow."

* * *

"I wonder why his mother didn't tell the school! He could have gotten special consideration for all this," Jack exclaimed.

Troy, Taylor and Gabriella had arrived back at Troy's house to find Jack Bolton awaiting their return. Lucille had called her husband to inform him of where they all were and what was going on.

"You think so?" Troy asked dubiously. "They probably would have just offered extra tutorial assistance and stuff."

"Maybe, probably. I don't know. The whole situation is rather frustrating. I was a bit harsh on him," he confessed, exhaling.

"We all were," Taylor said quietly.

Lucille had rang to let them know that she wasn't far away from being home, and the minute that she appeared in the doorway from the garage, Troy threw an onslaught of questions at her.

"Did you talk to Chad's mom? How's Jayme? Is everything okay? Did you find out about..."

"Okay one question at a time," Lucille remarked. She dropped her purse onto the counter, along with two large pizza boxes. She then crossed the room to come sit in the living room with the rest of the group. "Jayme is fine, just like she was when you left. She's being transferred up to the children's ward for the one night, just for observation. Trina is with Jayme now getting her settled into her room and then going to pick up some things for her."

"Did you guys know about… it all? The stuff that Jayme was saying?" Troy asked, eyes shifting between his parents.

"Absolutely not," Jack said firmly.

"We knew some of it, but not the extent. Trina told me she was doing a few extra hours at a restaurant to make ends meet. She wanted to make sure I had the emergency number just… like we do as parents. So we can contact one another if necessary. Like today. I didn't realise that the ends weren't meeting, and I had absolutely no idea that she was relying upon Chad so heavily."

"I don't think it was a case of her asking him to do stuff. I think he just…. Took it upon himself," Gabriella said. "You know, trying to be the man of the house kinda thing."

Lucille nodded. "I had a talk with Trina outside, before she asked Chad to go home. I told her about what Jayme had explained about how the accident happened. I think things are going to change around there. She's been house hunting for a while, trying to find somewhere cheaper for them to move to. Fortunately their lease is coming to an end and they're on good terms with the landlord and should be able to get out of it earlier if something comes up soon. There is also a change going on with their social security payments. I think from there, things will be a lot easier. I'm going to help her to start sorting some stuff out tomorrow."

"Why wouldn't they have just asked for help?" Troy asked, slightly exasperated. "I've been friends with Chad for how many years? And you've been friendly with his mom ever since then. It shouldn't have gotten this bad."

"For many people, asking for help is like admitting defeat," Jack said wisely.

"You don't always ask for help when you're stressed out," Gabriella pointed out to Troy.

"No but… this is totally different!"

"It's too late now to look back and think what should have been done. All you can do now is try to help," Lucille suggested.

"I'm going to get going," Taylor said definitively.

"You don't want to stay study?" Troy asked. "There's pizza here and everything."

"Umm… I might pass, if that's okay," Taylor said hesitantly.

"You're worried that if you spend all your time helping me you're not going to get any study done yourself?" Troy said with a smirk.

Taylor gave him a tight smile. "No, I just have to go… I have to go do something."

"Are you going to go try to talk to him?" Gabriella asked softly.

Taylor nodded, biting her lip. "I have to. I just… I can't explain why, I just know that I have to."

"I should be going to go talk to him," Troy said stubbornly.

"You need to study," Taylor said. "And so does Chad. I can go sit with him while he studies and do my own study and help him if he needs it."

"I couldn't give a crap about our exam."

"Troy," Jack said warningly.

"I'm sorry but I don't," Troy said defiantly.

"Troy… the stuff between you and Chad… it's not going to be a matter of a simple conversation and then it's all gonna be cool. It's bigger than that, you know that," Gabriella said tactfully. "I think you should leave it, at least for tonight."

Troy exhaled noisily. "You're just gonna keep arguing with me about this, aren't you?"

Gabriella nodded. "Afraid so."

"I'll tell him you wanted to go and we said not to," Taylor said, giving him a tight smile. She picked up her satchel and slung it across her shoulder.

"You'd better," Troy grumbled.

"I will, I promise. I'm just going to stop at the store first and then head over."

"Text me and tell me how he is," Gabriella said to Taylor.

"Will do."

Taylor disappeared out the front door, leaving the Bolton's and Gabriella.

"Right, pizza, let's dig in!" Jack declared, trying to sound cheerful.

"Do you mind if we take ours up to my room? Since I'm being forced to study may as well get stuck straight into it," Troy grumbled.

Lucille nodded. "That's fine. Door open though," she said cheerfully.

Troy rolled his eyes. "Yes mother."

Lucille watched as Troy and Gabriella traversed up the stairs, hand in hand. Gabriella was clutching to a plate with their pizza slices, while Troy carried their bags. Once the sound of music coming from Troy's room drifted downstairs, Lucille walked over to the counter to flick through to the contacts in her diary, pick up the phone and dial the number she wanted. She walked through into the study as she waited for her call to be answered, closing the door behind her.

"Hi Elena… no no, Gabriella is fine, they are studying here… yes Jayme is going to be fine, Gabriella was very resourceful and helpful this afternoon… no I'm calling because… well… I think I found out something that I would rather have not found out but yet needed to be found out…"

* * *

Meanwhile, over at the Danforth household, Chad had been seated in the dining room. He'd made himself some toast with peanut butter for dinner and was now stuck into his studying. He'd ploughed through his regular homework assignments before turning to the algebra. He was no more than one question into the math when he heard the sound of the garage door opening. Chad jumped up, abandoned his algebra and ran straight toward the door leading from the garage into the house to greet his mother.

"How is Jayme?" he asked urgently.

"She's going to be fine. I'm just grabbing her a few things, her book and some clothes and other bits and pieces. It's likely she will be back here tomorrow. It's just procedure to keep kids in for observation."

As she spoke, she had entered the house with Chad trailing behind her. They were now in the kitchen and Trina was rifling about in the fridge.

"Ma, I am so, so sorry," Chad said woefully.

"You're sorry? I thought you weren't even here when it happened," Trina said, somewhat confused. She emerged from the fridge with the water jug.

"I wasn't, but I should have been, especially when she had a friend here."

"She's the one who broke the rule and had Brenda over without supervision," Trina pointed out as she poured water into a glass.

"I should have been here anyway."

"Honey, I've asked you a few times if you can be home by a certain time but I don't expect you to be here every second of the day. Jayme is old enough to be by herself for a few hours of an afternoon."

"Yeah but…"

"Chad… I should be the one apologising to you."

Chad was confused. "What are you talking about? You don't need to apologise for anything."

Trina raised her eyebrows. "Chad, tell me, why didn't you tell me about the stuff with your algebra test and the basketball team?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't want you to worry is all. How did you find out?"

"Lucy told me."

"Oh."

"I was going to talk to you about something tonight and I think now more than before it seems even more important. I decided that we're going to have to move houses, somewhere smaller likely, less rent, it should make things easier."

Chad nodded earnestly. "That makes sense."

"You've been so wonderful lately and I have been taking it for granted that you've been here helping me so much. And as much as I appreciate you being so wonderful and mature and responsible… you shouldn't be sacrificing your own life."

"Well you know… I had to decide what was important. Family is what is important," Chad said, glancing down at the ground, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Oh honey come here," Trina said, holding out her arms to hug her son. "Things are going to change Chad. You've been so incredible through all of this and… and I haven't even thanked you for being such an amazing son. But things are going to change, and for the better. I promise."

* * *

"Troy, we've been doing this for a half hour and I swear, you've taken in absolutely nothing in that time," Gabriella said, somewhat frustrated. She was sitting on Troy's bed with his basketball pillow in her lap. He was sitting at his desk as Gabriella fired questions at him.

"I'm sorry, I can't concentrate. I should be over there talking to him," Troy complained.

Gabriella sighed. "Why don't we talk about it? I can sense that you're dying to interrogate me more about it. Let's just get it out there and then maybe you can take some of this physics stuff in."

Troy looked a little sheepish. "I do want to ask you about it but… I didn't want to rock the boat. Not when things were how they were yesterday. I mean, now I get even more so why you were the way you were."

"Sometimes the boat needs to be rocked. Better to talk about it now than let it fester."

Troy paused and stood up to close the door. "Well… to start with… I understand that you found out and that he didn't tell you. But, can you tell me _how_ you found out about all this?"

Gabriella winced. This was the one question that she had known was inevitable, but it was also the one question that she would prefer to avoid. "Someone else knew. That someone told me," she answered, trying to keep her response vague.

"Since I now know about it, why don't you just tell me who it was," Troy said, rolling his eyes. He stood from the desk and came over to sit in front of Gabriella on the bed. "I mean, it obviously wasn't Taylor. And I don't think Jason or Zeke could keep something like this to themselves if the future of the human race was relying upon it."

She took a breath, and bit the bullet, just answering flatly. "It was Ryan. Ryan knew." Troy's face contorted slightly, his eyes widening at this information. "Which also sort of explains to you why that Ryan was a bit more vocal about… well, why he wanted to tell you that you should lay off Chad."

Troy paused, as he took in this piece of information. "That… that does make sense. But um… why did Ryan know?"

Troy was doing everything within his power to keep his tone neutral and even. A part of him had wanted to snap back sarcastically with _'oh, of course Ryan knew.'_ It had been frustrating enough when Chad had told Ryan when Taylor had dumped him. But now evidently it was Ryan who was Chad's new found best friend and confidante.

"Chad didn't exactly _tell_ him, it was more a case of finding out by coincidence. They were hanging out one day. While we were all evidently busy. And Chad had that trouble with his spark plugs…"

"Oh I remember that day," Troy said, smirking at Gabriella, his mind suddenly distracted from the animosity. He took her hand in his, gently rubbing his thumb along her palm. "Surely you remember what we were doing that day?"

"Troy. Can you try to not talk or think about our sex life for like, a minute?" Gabriella scolded, rolling her eyes.

"I can not talk about it. But given the statistic that guys think about sex every seven seconds…"

"Anyway," Gabriella said pointedly, trying to move the topic back on track. "They were hanging out at the mall and when they left was when Chad had the car trouble. I gather that Ryan drove him home and basically walked in on it all, he saw an overdue bill notice on the fridge, there was a message on the answering machine from his mom saying she was working late. And Ryan prodded and Chad just vented it all."

"I see." Troy paused. "That's good. I'm glad he vented to someone at least."

"You don't have to be pretend to be fine with that. If I were you, I'd feel a little weird about someone else knowing. Especially… especially since it's Ryan," Gabriella added hesitantly.

Troy sighed. "Umm…. A little," he admitted hesitantly. "But more so, I'm annoyed in general that he couldn't talk to me about it, or Taylor. If he had told pretty much anyone else I would have felt the same level of annoyance. I know the two of them get along, I'm cool with that. Guys aren't like girls, we don't get weird about our friends being better friends with other people or… whatever."

"You just get neurotically jealous about your girlfriend being friends with other people?" Gabriella quipped.

"You think we're at the point of making jokes about that?" Troy asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Hmm good point, maybe not."

"There was a time when I would have put money on the fact that Chad would come to me about anything." Troy fell silent for a moment, before speaking candidly in a hushed done. "I've fucked up so badly Gabi. So, so, so badly. Chad isn't the perfect friend and he always seems to fuck up but… he always has the best of intentions and ultimately he comes back from it and makes up for it. I just… I just fuck up and beg for forgiveness and he goes along with it. Like… like over summer and…"

"So now you fix it. You make up for it," Gabriella said simply.

"It's not that simple."

"No, but it's a start. Troy… you and Chad have been through too much for you to possibly think that this is unsalvageable. Of course it's salvageable. The fact that he still came to your house today… doesn't that speak volumes for the depth of your friendship?"

"Okay… so how do I fix it? What do I do? Where do I start?"

"I can't answer that, you said it yourself, that it's not that simple. I can't give you a magical solution."

A knock at the door interrupted the conversation.

"Yeah?" Troy called.

The door opened, Lucille appearing in the doorway. She stepped down into the room, carefully observing the position of the two on the bed. They'd disobeyed the door open rule. Yes, both sitting on the bed, however across from one another and not particularly dishevelled.

"Can I get you kids anything?" Lucille asked. "Drinks, more pizza, dessert?"

"Maybe later," Troy said. "Thanks though."

"Gabriella, I was just talking to your mom," Lucille said smoothly. "She is going to come pick you up tonight."

Troy looked confused. "Oh, she doesn't need to, I can…"

"She knows that you can, but she wants to. She will be here at 10."

Lucille's tone was definitive. Troy knew his mother's tone, it was her no nonsense, don't argue with me, don't question me, just go with it tone.

"Okay," Troy said simply.

"And just making sure that you kids haven't made any plans for after your musical rehearsal tomorrow night?"

"Not as yet," Gabriella said. "Between being up late studying tonight and then Troy having a game after school and then rehearsal til 8 and then the next morning starting at 10:30, for some reason I doubt we'll be doing much of anything."

"Your mother has invited us over for a late dinner after your rehearsal," Lucille said.

This wasn't her way of _asking_ them if they were fine with this proposition. It was her way of informing them of the plan.

"Sounds good," Troy said.

"Excellent. I'll leave you to your study then." Lucille walked out, leaving the door open on her way out.

* * *

Chad's mom had left the house with the items she'd come to pick up for Jayme. Chad had spent about twenty minutes on his algebra study when the doorbell rang. He was minutely annoyed, but also welcomed the procrastination device. And he also wasn't particularly surprised upon opening the door to see Taylor.

"Hi," she said timidly.

"Hey," Chad said, smiling.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," Chad stood back to allow Taylor to come in.

"I um… I brought you this," Taylor said, holding out a canvas bag.

"What's this?" Chad asked, somewhat confused. He peered inside to see a bunch of energy drinks, a large bottle of Coke and some random snack items.

"Study mechanisms."

"You didn't have to do this," he said awkwardly.

"I did because… well… I was wondering whether you'd like me to study with you over the weekend?" Taylor suggested. "Since Gabriella has rehearsal tomorrow night and both days over the weekend, you're not going to find much time with her. So I brought this stuff so I'll have stuff to snack on too," Taylor said teasingly.

Chad rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "Umm… maybe."

"You gotten anything done tonight?" she asked, motioning toward the dining table where he had his books laid out.

"A bit. I did all my regular homework already. Just started on the algebra. Mom was here picking up some of Jayme's things and we were talking for a bit so… I lost some time."

"Well then, time's a wastin'. Let's get stuck into it."

"You say that like you're planning to stay help me now. Don't you have a physics exam tomorrow?"

"Yes," Taylor said simply. "I've been studying for like two weeks. It's fine. Now, do you want my help or not?"

"Tay, did you come here to help me study, or are you just doing this because you want me to talk about… everything that happened tonight and everything that happened with us and… well, everything in general?"

"Both," Taylor admitted.

"Then rather than sitting here anticipating when we might switch from study into talk mode, why don't we just get the talk over and done with now?" Chad suggested.

"See, I always liked your efficiency," Taylor said with a slight smile.

Chad didn't say anything, he just stared at the textbook which lay before him, allowing the silence to blanket over them. Where was he meant to begin?

"Not so efficient now," he finally quipped, breaking the silence.

Taylor gave him a small smile, realising how difficult it was for him to know exactly what he was meant to say. It wasn't a situation which had a prescribed script laid out. "Why didn't you tell me? I guess I just don't… I don't understand. All this started back when we were together. It was going so well and then suddenly it wasn't going well. And then this happened – and please don't lie to me and tell me that it began when all of this began. I remember a week of weirdness before David left. Yes, it was after he left when you were making excuses to not see me. I understand that you wouldn't want people to know how bad it was. But… you could have told me your mom was doing extra hours and so you had to look after your sister and do more housework and stuff. I wouldn't have thought anything peculiar of that. I know that when my parents got divorced, me and Tanesha had to start doing more household stuff."

"What would you have done if I had told you that?" Chad asked.

"I would have tried to help," Taylor said immediately.

It was exactly the response that he had anticipated. "Exactly. You just said it. You would have wanted to help. That's what you do Tay, you see problems and you get in there and you want to fix them. Which I really like about you because that's what I do also. But in this case, the thing is, I didn't want your help or your pity."

"You said 'your' like… like you're specifically saying that you didn't want _my_ help."

"Yes," Chad agreed. "That's right."

"Why?"

Chad sighed. "Fuck, might as well put it all out there now. Look. You were right, things… they were weird, I did go weird before this. Umm… okay. You're going to think this is stupid so just go with me and let me explain."

"Umm… okay…" Taylor said dubiously.

"Back… fuck. I don't even remember when it was. You and Ryan had that stupid little argument about when you said something about Sharpay and he said that you were being closed minded."

Taylor's nostrils flared just at the memory of the conversation. "Yes, I remember."

"And you said to him… you said… something like, I'm not closed minded, I'm dating Chad Danforth. Implying that I'm just a big joke and you have to expand your mind exponentially to date me and take me seriously."

"What? That's ridiculous!" Taylor exclaimed. "I wouldn't have meant it like that!"

"I said, let me explain," Chad said, rolling his eyes.

Taylor nodded, and mimed zipping her lips closed.

"I know you didn't mean it the way that it sounds. I know that you were implying that when we first started becoming friends, last year, that it was back then that you became a lot more open minded. I get that. I wasn't pissed at you about it. If I'd been pissed, I would have voiced it. I'm not exactly one to hold back from arguing with someone if I'm pissed with them, am I?"

Taylor shook her head and smiled tightly. "No, you definitely don't hold back. So if you weren't angry about it then why did it bother you?"

Chad couldn't even look at her as he spoke. His eyes were shifting about from his textbook, to his foot, to the framed photo of him and Jayme on the wall, to a glass of water which sat on the table.

"It just… it got me thinking about me. It's stupid. I don't normally contemplate who I am or any of that crap. But… you know, it's senior year and everyone was getting all hyped up about the future and stuff. Troy was being all serious about basketball from like day 1 of the year and you were doing the debate thing and Gab and Ryan did the whole student council thing and it was like everyone around me was doing all this stuff… and meanwhile, I hadn't changed, you know?"

"Chad…" Taylor began to say.

"No, please let me finish," he insisted. "I totally spaced for a bit, and I think I took my thoughts out on you because you had inadvertently started my whole… brain fuck. And so then, when David left my mom, it just all made sense that I wanted to be able to step up. That I wanted to do this, help my family. All the other stuff in life, all the mini dramas and bull shit it just… it seems less important, you know? When you don't know if there's gonna be enough money to buy food the next week… it just puts everything into perspective."

"I get that," Taylor said quietly.

"I know that I shut you out of it but, well, I really, truly didn't think it would get this bad. I thought it'd be a couple of weeks and then things would be cool again. But it didn't happen like that. And then once I decided to do it on my own that was kinda it, I couldn't then go back, I'd just gotten myself in too far, we were fighting too much for me to just explain it and make everything better. And because I've been doing all this stuff at home, I knew I wasn't going to have the time to dedicate towards fixing us. That's why I didn't fight with you about it. I agreed with you. I agreed that it was fucked up and it wasn't working. I'm so crazy about you Taylor, that never changed, but I just didn't have it in me to fight to make it work between us. I fucked up so badly. I was trying to prove that I could handle it and… and I just fucked everything up so badly."

As Chad spoke so openly, honestly, candidly; the tightness in Taylor's chest, the tightness that had been caused by such acrimony toward him… it drifted away.

"Hey," Taylor said softly, shifting her chair closer to him. "You have not fucked everything up."

"But I have," Chad protested. "I fucked up with school and with basketball, I fucked up things with someone who is supposed to be my best friend… I fucked up you and me…"

"Chad. Look at me."

Chad's shifting eyes finally shifted to meet Taylor's gaze. Her expression was soft, comforting, loving. Taylor leaned forward, and softly pressed her lips to his in a short, closed and yet meaningful kiss.

"You have not fucked everything up. We're going to get you through this."

* * *

"Perfect!" Gabriella declared.

"Great. So now that I've mastered how to do last years material, this years should be a breeze. And with only three days to learn it…"

It was free period on Friday morning, and Gabriella and Chad were secluded in a corner of the common area of the library, the one tiny sector where Miss Falsaff would permit students to engage in quiet study related conversation.

"You're being negative. Stop being negative," Gabriella reprimanded.

"But I'm not gonna have you to help me much over the weekend with all your rehearsals like every second of every day, am I?" Chad pointed out.

"No, but I thought Taylor said she was going to help you," she said, feeling a little apprehensive about Chad's tone.

"Yeah she did but…"

"But what? Spill," Gabriella prompted.

"She's only doing it because she feels like she has to make it up to me. Which is stupid because it's thanks to me that things got fucked up with us."

Obviously Taylor's words of reassurance from the evening before were not quite being taken to heart by Chad. Gabriella exhaled impatiently. "Chad, it takes two to tango."

"Who said anything about doing the tango?"

"I mean, it takes two people for a relationship to go wrong. I think that Taylor just genuinely wants to help. And you know… it might be good for you guys. Hang out, spend time together…"

Gabriella's sentence might have intended but Chad knew exactly where she was leading and implying.

"If you're trying to do some matchmaker fix it thing then…"

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Come on. Let's move on while this is all fresh."

Chad wasn't listening however, he was watching as someone approached them. He gave a curt nod in greeting.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," Troy said, leaning over to kiss Gabriella on the head.

"That's okay," Gabriella said with a smile.

"Here's the print out from Econ," Troy said, handing her a few pages of printed paper.

"Awesome, thank you." Gabriella took the papers from his hand.

"Umm… also just quickly… Chad, man umm…. Did you still want to do that PE project with me, the one that's due just before Christmas break? Coz umm… Zeke and Jason were just talking about getting started on theirs so, well, if you didn't want us to do it together, I thought I would ask them to swap with us now. Before they started it."

"Oh… I forgot about that," Chad admitted. "Umm… Nah it's cool. I think… I think we can do it together."

Troy nodded. "Umm… great. That's good. I might go and start some research for it, I'm already in the library so might as well. He wants a rough outline at the end of next week."

"You don't have to do that, we can work on it early next week or something," Chad said.

Troy shrugged. "It's cool. You'd do it for me. Well, you did do it for me actually, last year when I was busy with states and you did way more than your share of one of our projects."

Chad nodded. "Well... if you want to. That'd be cool." Chad cleared his throat. "Hey, I heard your physics exam went well."

Troy nodded. "Hopefully. I talked to the girls about their answers afterwards and I think I did okay."

"That's awesome man. I remember in eighth grade when we had to do that thing in science with dropping balls and calculating gravity or something, and we wound up just tossing the basketball around."

"Yeah. That was awesome," Troy laughed, and then cleared his throat. Anyway, I'll leave you guys to it."

"Meet me outside at the end of the period and you can walk me to calc?" Gabriella said with a smile.

"Of course."

* * *

The East High gymnasium was gradually filling up, with that afternoon's basketball game due to begin within fifteen minutes. Chad, Ryan and Gabriella had staked out primary seats for their crew.

"I'm surprised Taylor agreed to let you come this afternoon, she seems pretty hardcore about slave driving you this weekend," Ryan remarked to Chad.

"I was the one convincing him to take the time off on Wednesday night," Gabriella said to Ryan.

"And look how that worked out! Jack got that scout to talk to you and everything."

Chad wasn't willing to put a lot of stock into the scout talking to him. He knew that it had been more so Jack's suggestion and Troy's 'unavailability' that had allowed the opportunity to present itself.

"Don't worry, Taylor will make up for giving me the time off. I think what a slave driver she was like when we were dating. Now that I can't use the 'I won't do that thing you like' as a form of bribery, she's gonna be even more hard ass than ever," Chad commented lewdly. "Speaking of Taylor, where are the girls? They said they were just going to the bathroom."

"Not to be a traitor to my own gender, but don't you know by now that it takes us girls forever in the bathroom?" Gabriella teased.

"Why hello there."

Gabriella spun around and saw her mother with Lucille Bolton. "Mom! What are you doing here?"

"Well, when I was talking to Lucy last night she suggested that I come along to see what all of this is about."

"You got off work early to come and watch Troy play? You know they play later at night every other Wednesday."

"Well, I wanted to come today," Elena declared. "How are you boys?"

"Good thanks Ms Montez," Ryan said cheerfully.

"You must be excited, only a week until the big show night!"

Ryan nodded. "Nervously excited, anyway."

"Oh look, there's Alana! Have you met Alana Cross?" Lucille asked Elena.

"I don't believe I have. If we don't see you after the game, we'll see you at dinner tonight straight after your rehearsal," Elena said to her daughter, subtly reminding her of that evenings plans.

The mothers disappeared as Gabriella shook her head, somewhat mystified. "I'm going to go buy a soda. Do you guys want anything?"

Both Chad and Ryan shook their heads, and Gabriella disappeared, leaving the two guys alone.

"So," Ryan said.

Chad cleared his throat. "So."

"How you feeling? Now that… you know… it's all out?" Ryan asked.

Ryan had been filled in on the previous night's events by Gabriella.

"Yeah umm… I still don't like how Gabriella found out," Chad commented, raising his eyebrows at Ryan who winced slightly. "And I don't like how this happened. I would have preferred that I'd gotten to explain stuff to them. But somehow… it's just been done for me, you know? It was like some higher force decided that it was time for everything to start making a bit more sense. I'm kinda relieved actually."

"Well at a minimum, Taylor's helping you study, so that's good, yeah?"

"Yeah. It's not a bad situation here, having all these smart girls around. Depending on who is busy with what, I can interchange between them," Chad joked. "As a tutor," he added hastily.

"Are you gonna talk to them about it all?" Ryan asked.

"Taylor and I had a long talk. Troy… well… it's different, obviously." Chad's train of thought shifted as he caught a glimpse of a couple of very familiar men entering and being ushered by the assistant coach into a reserved area up front. Chad gestured. "There's the guys from the Redhawks."

"Here to snap Troy up, I bet," Ryan remarked.

"Yeah, and they had to pick this week to come watch," Chad said darkly.

"They'll probably come back during playoffs," Ryan said optimistically.

"Not if they make their offer to Bolton tonight, then they won't need to come back."

Ryan had no constructive response, because he knew very well that it was quite likely the truth.

* * *

For Troy Bolton, there were very few feelings in the world which compared to the sensation of winning a basketball game. Especially not a game where Troy knew that he had been in his very best form. He'd always played well under pressure. In moments when eyes were watching him, he didn't collapse. He rose to the occasion. And when the end of the match came and he emerged with impressive statistics showing just how influential he had been, he revelled in knowing that he had performed to the very best of his ability.

Troy was jogging about the court in post match celebrations, shaking his opponents' hands, congratulations his team mates. Gabriella came barrelling toward him from the stands, engulfing him in a tight hug from behind.

"Congratulations Wildcat!" she exclaimed.

Troy turned around within her grasp, his broad smile melting into a soft kiss.

Chad and Ryan were approaching just a few steps behind Gabriella. Ryan's hand clamped on Troy's shoulder, tearing the young couple apart.

"Awesome stuff out there tonight Troy," Ryan declared.

Troy shook Ryan's outstretched hand. "Thanks man."

Chad cleared his throat, also holding out his hand, but somewhat more tentatively.

"Yeah, you did good dude," Chad said simply.

Troy glanced at Chad's hand for a moment before shaking it heartily. "Woulda been even better with you out there."

"Nah, you guys kicked ass, I bet the team hardly even noticed I wasn't there."

"I noticed."

"Troy! Awesome game!" Taylor called, approaching them.

She exchanged a small hug with Troy.

"Thanks Tay."

"You. Enough socialising," Taylor said, poking Chad in the ribs. "It's time to study."

"And we'd better get going to Lava Springs. Gabriella, were you going to wait for Troy, or are you coming with me now?" Ryan asked.

"Troy!"

Troy looked up to see his father calling him as he jogged over to the group.

"Hi everyone," Coach Bolton said politely, before turning to Troy with an urgent tone. "Troy, the Redhawk guys want to talk to you _now_ in my office."

"How long are they gonna take? I have to take off for rehearsal, remember?"

Jack blinked. "Troy, when people are on the verge of making you an offer for a college scholarship worth tens of thousands of dollars, they can take as long as they damn well want to."

"Take your time man," Ryan said quickly. "I'll take Gabriella now, and we'll stall for you. It's cool."

"You sure?" Troy said dubiously.

"Yes!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Now go!"

Troy nodded, but then hesitated. "Hang on wait."

"What now?" Jack Bolton said impatiently. "Just hurry up. I'll go tell them you're just coming."

And Jack trotted away, the ever doting father/coach who was far more excited about the prospect of his meeting than Troy himself.

Troy turned to Chad. "Chad. You need to come with me, man."

Chad laughed. "Troy, get real."

"You… you need to hear something. They should have seen you playing too." Troy grabbed Chad by the arm. "Come on."

Chad allowed Troy to lead him across the gym in the direction of the locker rooms. "Troy, you're not gonna do something crazy here man? I know you're feeling bad about everything but…"

"I'm not doing what's crazy, I'm doing what is right," Troy said decisively.

When Troy reached his father's office, he held his hand up for Chad to wait outside. Troy strode into the room.

"Ah, here he is, the man of the hour," Coach Bolton declared. "Troy, this is Tony Fox, and you've of course met Coach Vernon."

Troy curtly shook hands with the men, exchanging requisite 'pleased to meet you/see you again' pleasantries. Coach Bolton excused himself to give them privacy – and then scurried outside to eavesdrop at the door.

"Chad? What are you doing here?" Coach Bolton hissed.

"Troy told me to stay here and listen, I don't know what the hell he is going on about."

Troy, on the other hand, knew exactly what was going on.

"Let's cut straight to the chase Troy," Tony said bluntly. "You've known for a while that we're interested in you. The U of A is an up and coming force within its conference. There is a lot of talent not only within our region but across the country this year, and providing that we can recruit the right team, we're in with a great chance this upcoming season."

"I agree," Troy said, nodding along.

"The word on the street is that New Mexico State have made you an offer," Coach Vernon said, crossing his arms.

Troy shrugged. "They might have."

"We are more than interested in you. We want you. We need you. Agree to become a fully fledged Redhawk and we guarantee it will be worth your time. You won't have to worry about loans and government debt."

"What about housing?" Troy prompted.

"It will all be taken care of, all of it."

Troy paused. "How many players are you looking to recruit this year?"

"That depends on a few things. Probably three or four."

"Anyone else from my team?"

"Well, we were interested in seeing your vice captain but he wasn't out tonight so…"

"My co-captain, you mean."

"Your co-captain?" Coach Vernon repeated.

"Yes," Troy said firmly. "Chad Danforth is my co-captain. And if you know what is best for your university and for your team, I suggest you come back and watch the Wildcats again next Friday night. I won't be playing, I have another commitment. But Chad will be captaining the team and I guarantee you that it will be a performance worth coming to see."

Troy's tone was confident and solid as he smiled broadly at the gentlemen.

"We'll see," Coach Vernon mused. "There could be a clash in scheduling but… we'll see."

"Excellent."

"Well, we'll have to set up a weekend soon for you to come and spend some time with the team," Tony said.

Troy nodded. "Maybe. East High have the SATs first weekend in December so it's pretty hectic for myself at the moment."

There was an undertone to Troy's suggestion – being that he wasn't even going to take the offer seriously unless they were willing to take Chad seriously.

Outside, the eavesdropping Jack Bolton wasn't sure whether to feel proud of his son for taking such a risk – or to just wring his neck for making such a cocky move.

And the eavesdropping Chad was equally blown away.

Inside the room – Troy didn't care about the risk. He didn't care about the implications. He cared about one thing and one thing only. Doing what was right.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Firstly, just a **gigantic** thank you times infinity to **_everyone_** who has been supporting this story. Last chapter I was sooo blown away by all the reviews I got, it was great to have not only continual support from my regular crew who I love, but also to hear from some different people. So incredibly motivational, you've no idea. Exactly what I need to push me through this home stretch!

Now. Just on a serious note – I live in Australia, and we may be young and free and have a land which is girt by sea. (Lyrics from our anthem... I don't use the word girt in a typical conversation...) However it seems that since our country is so geographically removed and the people from Disney are delivering the reel of film with HSM3 on it via a hot air balloon or some other slow transportation device; we don't get HSM3 in our cinemas until December. Here is a recap from my first chapter author's note.

_Let me just put this out there now. If HSM3 comes out and I haven't finished this story, any similarities or dissimilarities are __**unintentional**__. In my brain, the whole thing is written. The plot will not change. __**For the purpose of this story, HSM3 is irrelevant**__._

I have a self imposed 'no spoilers' rule. This rule will continue through until December. It's already painfully hard. It's only going to get harder. It means that I have to be wary of every link I click onto, of every interview I read/watch, of every thread I read in a forum, of every comment posted within blogs which I frequent. Meaning that I've stopped looking at said threads and blogs and interviews and links. It also means that I am going to be writing Part 2 and planning part 3 of this story blind – wondering how my own plot will be sitting in conjunction with the themes/plots of the film, knowing that the majority of you will have already seen it.

Some of you may have already had the opportunity to attend various premieres; others of you from this Thursday have the LA premiere. Some of you may not have seen it but might have talked to people who have or gone online and read about the film, or viewed the video camera in the cinema bits that I know are circulating out there.

I would just like to ask that you respect the painful process that I am putting myself through and just be wary of this in any comments you might make to me, whether it be in a review or a PM or whatever. I don't anticipate that anyone will ever _directly _or _intentionally_ say anything; but all it takes is 'aww, this reminds me of that part in the final song of the movie where…' and I will be wanting to _**throttle**_ you. So… yes. Just something to keep in mind. :-) I hope this doesn't sound bitchy but I'm just really serious about this and it would be really frustrating for me if someone accidentally let somehing slip. I'm also really concerned about the whole possible appearance of plagiarism if any of my plot winds up being similar.

Anyway… I'd love to hear from everyone again, so go on and hit that pretty review button, I'll love you forever and ever for it.

-Danielle xo


	48. Chapter 47

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make no money from it. Really.

**Author's Note: **In addition to my thanks to Martin (_emptrajan) _for his feedback on my work; I would also like to thank Nel (_Persephone Lemonade) _for assisting with some Spanish translation work in this chapter. A real life Spanish speaking person beats an online translator any day :-)

And also… I edited this while watching the live feed and in the ZA Angels Forum chat for the LA Premiere of you know what and can I just say AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! In TWENTY FOUR SLEEPS I will be at the Sydney version and can I just say AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

* * *

**Chapter 47**

"Look, it's our musical stars," Lucille called out brightly, upon hearing the front door open and the couple enter the house. The trio of adults were seated in the Montez dining area, each nursing a glass of wine. "Better late than never."

"Sorry, rehearsal ran late," Troy apologised, calling back.

He squeezed Gabriella's hand as the pair entered into the dining room where Elena Montez and the Bolton's were gathered making small talk. It was about twenty past eight. Rehearsal had finished a little early, just before 8; and it was only a fifteen minute drive from Lava Springs to the Montez household. Troy had insisted to his girlfriend that it would be perfectly feasible to argue that rehearsal had gone an extra five minutes – the result being a furious make out session in the backseat of Troy's truck. The whole drive back, Gabriella had furiously been brushing her hair, smoothing down her blouse and reapplying lip gloss.

"You're just in time, dinner is almost ready," Elena said cheerfully, standing up to move toward the kitchen to check on the oven.

"We'll just go wash up then," Gabriella said, returning the brightness of the smile. She yanked Troy through to the downstairs bathroom.

"Why are they scarily cheerful?" Gabriella hissed lowly.

"They don't seem different to me," Troy said quietly, oblivious to anything that was different.

"They must know we were making out."

"We're seventeen, we've been dating for nine months. Your mom is sending you off to sex clinics. Of course they know we were making out," he pointed out. "This is how this works, babe. We present the guise of an alternative – rehearsal running late. They pretend to believe it. Deep down they know it was otherwise. But they have nothing to disprove it and they prefer to believe the fake story."

"Maybe that's all it is then. They're just trying to act normal."

"Relax babe. It's not like we haven't had dinner with all the parents together before," Troy said soothingly.

"I know, I know. I just… I feel like there's something more going on."

She couldn't put her finger on what it was, but intuitively, Gabriella knew that something was up. And she wasn't known as the genius for nothing.

* * *

Elena had prepared an assortment of Mexican dishes to sample, with a spread in the centre of the dining table for everyone to take what they wished.

"What's with your sudden Mexican recipe testing craze?" Gabriella asked, as she lifted a quesadilla over to her plate.

"Well, when your aunt and uncle are here they will be expecting at least something traditional," Elena pointed out.

"They're coming for Thanksgiving, won't they be expecting, like, turkey and pumpkin pie?"

"They are here for three nights, sweetheart, surely you don't expect to have turkey and pumpkin pie every night for three nights."

"If you get a turkey as big as you normally do I would be," Gabriella pointed out with a cheeky grin, recalling back to the size of the turkey her mother had purchased two years earlier when they had hosted Thanksgiving dinner.

Jack Bolton swallowed his first bite of an enchilada. "Well this might just be the best Mexican food I have ever eaten. It is a crime that we live in New Mexico and don't eat Mexican food enough," Jack declared.

Dinner progressed smoothly with nothing particularly out of the usual taking place. Elena excitedly discussed how enthralled she had been with the basketball game that afternoon, having never watched a basketball match before. Lucille recalled an entertaining story that had occurred with a patient. Troy and Gabriella talked about the happenings of rehearsal that evening and the overall progress of the show. Before they knew it, Lucille was taking everyone's empty plates and stacking them up.

"Oh!" Troy suddenly said, turning to Gabriella. "Did Zeke talk to you about his group hang out idea?"

"What, no?"

"For tomorrow night."

Gabriella and Troy missed the sideline glance between each of the parents and the little nod from Elena. The, _okay, just get it over and done with_ nod.

"Umm… might I interrupt you right there," Lucille said somewhat tentatively, pushing the pile of plates aside.

The pair looked up. "Huh?" Troy said blankly.

"We need to talk to you guys about something," Elena said.

"Oh?" Gabriella said, attempting to sound casual, however her tone was evidently nervous. She knew her mother very well. It wasn't a tone Gabriella was familiar with – but she knew her mother well enough to feel a sense of impending doom within her stomach.

Lucille was a little more familiar with the art of reprimand, and it had already been pre-established that she was going to take the lead.

"When I was talking to Trina Danforth last night, I made a reference to the night after your last game against the Knights when you stayed over there," Lucille said evenly.

"Oh?" Troy's voice raised an octave higher as he spoke meekly. He couldn't even look at Gabriella, especially not when he had been so quick to dismiss her hunch that something was up. He'd managed to convince himself that they'd covered themselves pretty well at the hospital when his mother's suspicions had surfaced. Evidently, not so much.

"Why is it that Trina has no recollection of this evening?" Lucille asked Troy flatly.

If it were Troy and Troy alone who was facing the firing squad, he might not have bothered with the act. But it was Gabriella who was going to face the wrath, it was Gabriella who had disobeyed her mother. And Troy felt indebted to her for that night, and was not fond of the idea of her suffering negative consequences as a result.

"I was at Jason's," Troy said, thinking quickly. "We were setting off fireworks which I know you don't approve of and…"

His manufactured story was cut off by a retort from his mother. "Funny that Alana Cross didn't recall you staying there overnight recently."

"Umm… not Jason's. Did I say Jason's?" Troy laughed nervously. "I was at Zeke's."

"You mean, on the same night that you and Zeke got into the fight right before you and Chad did?" Jack queried, eyebrows raised.

"Do the guys on the team tell you everything about my life?" Troy asked incredulously.

"Cross usually cracks under pressure," Jack responded, raising his eyebrows.

"Okay umm… I was…" Troy was searching his brain for a logical response.

"Troy," Gabriella said softly, rolling her eyes. As admirable as his feeble attempt of coverage was, she knew it was pointless and that he was wasting his breath.

"I was driving around! And… I felt tired. And so I pulled over and took a nap. Since driving while tired is bad. And woke up the next morning," Troy said triumphantly.

Gabriella sighed, exasperated. "Troy was here."

"No I wasn't!" Troy exclaimed, shooting her a desperate look. "I was never here."

"Troy, they're not stupid," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes. "Troy was here. Mom was away. You've all already worked this out. Haven't you?"

"I had hoped the assumption had been wrong," Elena said, exhaling in realisation.

"It was my fault," Troy said immediately. "Not hers."

"No it wasn't," Gabriella said insistently.

"Gabi…"

"It was not Troy's fault. And it is definitely not how it sounds. Troy was upset after his match and then he had a big argument with his friends. He told me that he didn't want to go home, and so I suggested he crash here. We hung out, we had dinner, we watched a movie, we went to sleep. Full stop." Gabriella's voice was firm. Being caught was one thing – but at least if they were caught, the facts needed to be set straight.

"The issue here is not about what you were doing or not doing," Elena said quietly. "The issue is that you broke a promise to me, Gabriella."

"I know," Gabriella said softly, staring at the placemat in front of her. As unaccustomed as her mother was to using that tone of disappointment, Gabriella was unaccustomed to hearing it.

"And the issue is also that you lied to us, Troy," Lucille added.

Troy scratched the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact with anyone. It wasn't the first time that he'd stretched the truth about where he had been – but he wasn't in the habit of blatantly lying, making up a completely false version of happenings.

"I'm just… I'm really disappointed. In both of you. We've been… more than lenient. This…" Elena trailed off, shaking her head. "I'm just really disappointed."

The pair hung their heads in silence. The fact was that on many levels, it was worse being reprimanded in this cold, disappointed, rational level. Shouting would be easier to deal.

"Why didn't you want to come home, son?" Jack asked, Gabriella's explanation hitting at a nerve he didn't like at all.

"Just didn't wanna," Troy said shortly, not willing to elaborate. He was now tracing the pattern of the intricate design of the placemat which lay before him.

"Look… we'll talk about this more with you individually but we've all agreed that we can't just turn a blind eye to this," Lucille said firmly. "So – to start with – whatever plans you may or may not have had for your Saturday and Sunday nights this weekend, they are officially cancelled."

"We would ground you altogether but since you have rehearsals all day both days, that is hardly going to work, is it?" Jack said wryly.

"What time does your rehearsal begin tomorrow?" Elena asked.

"It's 10 until 5," Gabriella answered quietly.

"Excellent. I will be driving you there and picking you up."

"Ms. Montez? You really don't need to do that. It hardly seems practical when…"

Elena held her hand up, interrupting Troy. "Troy, I know I don't need to do it. But I want to. Understand?"

"Yes," Troy said meekly.

"This isn't the end of this. There will be more but we will discuss that with you both individually later on," Lucille said.

"So. Enough of that for now. How about some dessert?" Elena said, the return of the forced cheerful smile, standing up from the table and taking in the pile of dirty dishes.

"I'll help you dish it out," Lucille said, standing up and following Elena into the kitchen.

Troy and Gabriella were both sitting in silence. Gabriella wouldn't even dare to glance over at Troy, but the brief look he snuck of her told him just how mortified she was. All he wanted to do was reach over and press a soft kiss to her lips and tell her it was all going to be okay. However Jack's watchful eye had remained in the room.

"Don't look so glum. At least it's on a weekend when you have these rehearsals so you still get to see each other," Jack said, feeling a little sorry for them. The dual scolding had been the method chosen by the mothers for this very purpose, for putting the pair into a position where they couldn't even attempt to cover for one another. "A word of advice though Troy? Normally when you lie to your parents about where you are, you clear it with your alibi to make sure you don't get caught out."

Troy glared at his father, not appreciating the moment of jovial sarcasm. "Gee dad, what a great idea, I'll try that next time."

"Next time? Sure, if you want to be grounded permanently," Jack said with a snort.

The house phone began ringing, and Gabriella jumped up to answer it.

"I'll get it!" Gabriella called, desperate to do and think about something other than the feeling of guilt in the pit of her stomach.

"Hello?"

"Hola, mi sobrina preciosa!"

Gabriella smiled, recognising her Auntie Eva's voice. It was exactly the pick up needed.

"Hola Tia Eva! Como esta?"

"Estoy muy bien, solo es que mi rodilla me ha estado molestando un poco, pero gracias por preocuparte. Pero no hablemos de mi. Cuentame, como estas? Como esta ese novio tan guapo que tienes? Ya quiero conocerlo!"

"Okay, you know I don't speak that much Spanish!"

Eva laughed gently. "You should though, a girl with your brain has no excuse for not studying your native language."

"I will one day, you know I will."

"What are you doing home, it's a Friday night! You should be out having fun with that super hunky boyfriend of yours."

Gabriella blushed, glancing sideways at Troy. "Auntie Eva!"

"What! You should be!"

"He's here for dinner with his parents."

Elena and Lucille came back into the room laden with desserts. Elena had overheard Gabriella's end of the conversation, working out that it was her sister on the phone.

"Ohhh I see. I won't talk long then, I just wanted to confirm Thanksgiving details with your mom."

"She's right here, I'll put her on."

"Okay, love you sweetie, see you in a couple of weeks."

Gabriella handed the phone over to her mother.

"Eva! Como estas, hermana?... Si, el novio de Gabriellita y sus padres estan aqui..."

Elena mouthed an apologetic sorry to Lucille and Jack, putting a finger up to say 'one minute'. Lucille waved her away with a smile, and handed over a dessert bowl each to Jack, Troy and Gabriella.

"I'm surprised you don't speak fluent Spanish," Troy remarked to his girlfriend.

Gabriella shrugged. "Just a tiny bit here and there."

"Didn't you ever study Spanish at school with your compulsory languages?" Jack asked.

Gabriella shook her head. "I took Latin."

Elena came back into the room, having cut her phone conversation short. "The year that these family holidays come without some sort of drama attached will be a miracle."

"So your sister is coming here for Thanksgiving?" Lucille asked as she passed a dessert bowl to Elena.

"Yes, with my brother in law and their kids. They live in Ciudad Juárez in Mexico."

"I thought your parents moved to the United States when you were younger?" Troy asked Elena.

Elena nodded. "Yes, but my brother in law grew up in Mexico, and they wound up moving back there. Well, it's barely Mexico – given that it's practically the same city as El Paso in Texas."

"They have a great basketball team," Jack said casually.

"Jack, your brother and his family are coming for Thanksgiving, aren't they?" Elena asked.

"Yes, but just for the day since they live in Santa Fe. Lucy's sister Emily and her family are staying with us for a couple of days though."

Elena turned to Gabriella. "What are your plans for your Thanksgiving break?"

Gabriella winced, concerned that with their few days off school, round 2 of punishment was just around the corner. "Well, Jason has made plans to shoot his short film for the festival," Gabriella said cautiously. "And we have committed to assisting him. Why?"

"You are going to show Felix around town, aren't you?" Elena asked.

"You said that as though it's a question. Is it a question, do I have a choice in the matter?"

"Not really," Elena said. "Consider it a part of your punishment."

"At least you agree that having to spend time with Felix is punishment," Gabriella grumbled.

"Is this your cousin?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. "He's okay. He's fifteen. A bit… weird."

Troy turned to his mother. "Is Jake coming with Auntie Em?"

"I believe so, I think he's driving on his own."

"Snap!" Troy exclaimed.

"Is this the cousin you're always talking about? The one at New Mexico State?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. "That's the one. I haven't seen him for ages… since…. Last Christmas?"

Troy and Gabriella both knew that they hadn't even began to face the 'real' onslaught, that it would be once the parents had their indiviudal child alone that the true colours of disappointment would shine. In the mean time, the conversation was forced, presenting the 'illusion' that everything was okay.

Every last bite of each dessert bowl was consumed and Troy began to politely collect the dishes to take them into the kitchen.

"Here I'll…" Gabriella began to say, and before she could finish the sentence with _help _Elena cut her off.

"Let me help you Troy," Elena said firmly.

It didn't occur to Troy that Elena was doing anything other than being the hostess. He carried the dishes into the kitchen and Elena trailed behind him.

"Troy?"

He looked up, noting the serious expression on her face.

"Yes?" he said, his tone dubious.

"What I am about to say to you is going to sound rather harsh given how I usually speak to you. But you see Troy, you have to understand that I have to not only be Gabriella's mother, but I also have to be her father. And that she is my little girl, my only little girl, and that she means the world to me."

Troy nodded. "Of course."

"My daughter is special. Her gifts… do you understand just how bright she is? She isn't just your regular intelligent girl."

"I'm beginning to understand," Troy said honestly. "I don't think I did at first, she tends to play it down bit."

"Gabriella has the potential to be anyone she wants to be, to go anywhere, to do anything. I like you Troy, don't get me wrong. But…" Troy gulped, sensing the change in tone. "She has been through so much in her life, she has overcome too much to have her life screwed up because some horny boy who claims to love her makes a dumb mistake. If you ever do anything to hurt my daughter – you'll realise that I am someone to be a whole lot more scared of than any overprotective father. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Troy swallowed. "Yes ma'am."

"Right then." Elena smoothed down her skirt.

"Ms. Montez?" Troy ventured. "I'm sorry about what happened when you were away. Gabriella wasn't lying just then when she said that it wasn't… how it sounds."

"This isn't only about that night, Troy."

Troy nodded. "I understand. Just… know that I do love your daughter. She is an incredible young woman who I feel privileged to have within my life. I would never, ever, ever, ever, ever do anything to intentionally hurt her."

"Well. That's a start." Elena paused. "Do I need to hire someone to come cut that tree from my yard?"

Troy blinked. "Err… no ma'am."

"Excellent."

* * *

On Saturday morning, Chad had himself set up in the dining room. Jayme was settled in the living room with DVDs and books and even a homework assignment or two. Chad made sure he was within earshot so she could call out if she needed anything.

Chad was insistent upon doting over his sister, flitting from his homework to the living room to find out if she had any requests.

"I do have crutches that I am perfectly capable of using," Jayme pointed out.

"Jayme, this is possibly the only time that I'm ever going to be nice to you, you should be lapping it up," Chad remarked.

"I would be if I didn't know that you have a test on Monday that if you don't pass you won't be allowed to play on the team this week," Jayme replied.

"You have to stop eavesdropping, it's not cool you know."

"You have to stop procrastinating."

"You're only a kid, how do you know the word procrastinate?"

"I happen to be very smart for my age thank you."

"A smart ass more like it," Chad said under his breath.

"I'm gonna tell ma that you said a bad word," Jayme teased.

"Bite me," Chad shot back.

The sibling banter was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. Chad trotted out from the living room and through the hallway. He peered through the peephole, seeing Taylor standing on his doorstep.

"Hi," Chad said, his tone filled with a hint of surprise.

"Why do you look surprised to see me?" Taylor asked, raising her eyebrows. "I said I would come over, you did remember, didn't you?"

"Yeah, course I did. I guess… I dunno. I thought you might bail for some reason."

"Obviously you don't know me very well if you think I'm the type of person to shirk my responsibilities."

"This isn't your responsibility, it's mine," Chad pointed out.

"Are you going to invite me in, or are we just gonna stand on your door step all day?"

Chad grinned. "Sure, come in."

"Is that Taylor?!" Jayme's voice called excitedly from the living room.

Taylor walked into the living area, grinning broadly at Jayme. "Hi sweetheart. Loving the pink cast."

"I can't wait til Monday! I'm gonna get all my friends to sign it. And Brenda is coming over later today so she can sign it then."

"And on that note…" Taylor said. She rustled around in her satchel, pulling out a small gift wrapped present. "I got you this."

"Oooh!" Jayme accepted the gift excitedly and tore the wrapping paper open, to reveal a set of permanent markers. "Oh these are awesome! Look! There's a silver one! And purple!"

"Why have black pens when you've got this awesome pink cast and you can have awesome colours all over it to match," Taylor said cheerfully.

"Will you sign it?" Jayme asked imploringly.

"I'll come back in a little bit, I'm just going to take your dipstick brother and get him to start studying," Taylor informed her.

Jayme giggled. "Okay."

Taylor left the living room, beckoning Chad to come follow her into the dining area.

"Okay, let's get down to it," Taylor said briskly.

"Hey Taylor?" Chad mused.

"Yeah?"

"Did Gabriella ask you to do this? To offer to tutor me since she was going to be busy with the musical all weekend?" Chad ventured.

Taylor shook her head. "No."

"Then why did you offer?"

"Before we dated Chad… we were friends. Yes it all kinda happened in a mush, that I realised there was more to you than what I had thought, and then I was attracted to you and then we became friends and then I realised that the attraction was founded just as much by feelings as it was by… well… lust," Taylor said with a coy smile, which Chad returned. "But we were friends. And… okay the relationship kinda didn't work but… that doesn't strip away that we were friends. Does it?"

Chad shook his head. "No. It doesn't."

"So one friend who got an A plus in algebra to another – let me help you."

"All right. But only because you got the A plus. If had had been just an A, I might have said no," Chad teased.

* * *

Dress Rehearsal Number 1 on Saturday morning was a complete disaster. The previous evening had ran relatively smoothly, it was far from perfect but it had been nowhere near disastrous. On Saturday morning, everything that could go wrong, seemed to go wrong. During lunch break, a group of the Wildcats were sitting around somewhat glumly.

"I've never been to a dress rehearsal this bad," Ryan said incredulously. "Never, ever."

"It wasn't THAT bad," Kelsi said optimistically.

"Kelsi. The sets fell over. Props weren't there on time. Hardly anyone was on stage at the right time. Everyone was forgetting their lines. The stage was black half the time. The band was out of time. And that poor girl in the chorus had her top fall off. What more do you want to go wrong?" Gabriella said, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, on the bright side, Troy knows his lines," Kelsi said with a smile.

Troy grinned. "That's me, super Troy, always on the ball."

"Oh Ryan!" Sharpay's voice rang out as she strode over to their picnic table. "Guess what?"

Ryan blinked. "Um. You got the new Gucci sunglasses you wanted?"

"No I didn't, not yet," Sharpay said, her tone slightly annoyed. "The shop screwed up my import order and there has been a delay. We so need to live in New York City or Los Angeles. Anywhere with a real mall and real shops. No, I was just talking to Daddy…"

"Dad's here?"

"Yes. Anyway, I was just talking to Daddy and he gave us permission to host a gathering next Saturday night after the show!"

Ryan raised his eyebrows. "I thought you said you didn't want to throw a party?"

"A party, no. A gathering yes. An exclusive gathering. Cast and crew and other exclusively invited guests only. Low key. We have our competition season coming up, the last thing you need to be doing is getting drunk," Sharpay said haughtily.

Ryan hid a smirk. "Very true."

Sharpay turned to the other Wildcats, whom she had not even looked at until that moment. "So if you guys want to invite any of your other friends, you'll have to e-mail me the list so I can make sure they are put on the door."

"I don't even know if I'll be allowed to go," Gabriella said tentatively.

"Oh, why not?" Ryan said.

"My mom and I are having a…. a disagreement at the moment," Gabriella said tactfully.

"I'm sure it's going to work out fine," Troy said soothingly. "You'll have a talk tonight and she will calm down."

"I'm not so sure."

"What happened?" Kelsi asked.

Gabriella hesitated before answering. "Um… long story short, when my mom was away a few weekends ago, Troy came over and we hung out – note hung out," she said with emphasis, anticipating that their friends would assume otherwise. "But I sorta told her I wouldn't have him over and he told his parents he was elsewhere and his mom found out and so of course she told my mom."

"Ouch," Martha winced.

"I'm so glad that my mom doesn't talk to any of the other moms," Kelsi said. "She doesn't even know that Jason and I are going out."

"Well you have to be there," Sharpay said, a little stiffly. "After all, it is a cast and crew party. Get your mom to call my mom, there are going to be adults there. Well, they won't be _there_ but they'll be in the house."

"Umm… I'll see what she says," Gabriella said, throwing Sharpay an appreciative smile for the suggestion.

"Whatever," Sharpay said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Troy, Daddy said he's going to come over to talk to you in a minute."

Troy smiled tightly. "Great."

"He probably just wants to congratulate you since the U of A made you that offer," Sharpay said brightly.

"The U of A made you an official offer?" Kelsi asked, surprised. "When?"

"Last night," Troy said.

"Oh, were you not telling people?" Sharpay asked. She was genuinely concerned that she might have said something she shouldn't have.

"It's okay, it's not a big deal. I wasn't keeping it a secret, I just wasn't going around shouting it out to the world," Troy said carefully.

"They offered you a full package, didn't they?" Ryan asked. "That is a big deal."

Troy nodded. "It's awesome, don't get me wrong. And it's sure nice to fill in my online profile thing saying that I've had some serious offers. But… it's early days."

"Meaning you want to play the field and see what other offers come up?" Martha offered.

Troy coughed, very aware that both of the Evans' twins were present; and neither of which he completely trusted to not repeat his answer to their father.

"Troy!"

Troy never failed to jump a little each time he heard Vance Evans' booming, commanding voice – even when he had received warning from Sharpay of his impending arrival.

Troy stood up, smiling broadly. "Hi, Mr Evans."

"Must be strange being here this time of day and not working," Vance said cheerfully. "Then again, this is probably more work than your usual job."

Troy laughed. "A different kind of work, anyway. As much as I love the kids, it's refreshing not having to worry about them."

"I saw you moved up in the rankings, good work."

Troy gave him a bashful smile. "Yeah, I was pretty stoked."

"You must be having a great season."

"I'm happy so far. Plenty of room for improvement though."

"Especially once you start playing college ball in the right team."

Troy smiled. "Exactly," he said elusively.

Vance knew exactly what game Troy was playing, and laughed heartily. "You would make a fine poker player, keeping your cards to yourself. That's a smart strategy. I did notice on your profile that New Mexico State made you an offer."

"That's right," Troy said, once again not elaborating.

Vance merely smiled. "Well, I'm sure Coach Vernon will be in touch with you shortly to arrange another training session."

"Yes, he mentioned wanting to set something up."

"Excellent. Princess, I know you're on your lunch break but could you come back to my office when you get the chance? I was just organising flights for your Juilliard audition in New York City and I just want to run it by you."

Sharpay clapped excitedly. "Okay!"

Ryan cleared his throat. "What about my audition?"

"Oh, did you also apply?" Vance asked.

"I told you I was applying! For the dance program!" Ryan said, his tone edging upon exasperated.

"I knew you'd thought about it, I just didn't know you were serious."

"Well, my audition is at the end of February," Ryan said emphatically.

"Oh, there's plenty of time until that," Vance pointed out. As he spoke, he absentmindedly reached up and straightened the cap on Ryan's head. "Princess here has her auditions at the end of January. Luckily that works well for me, even if New York is a bit dreary that time of year. Anyway, Princess whenever you are ready, you know where I'll be. Good luck with the rest of your rehearsal kids."

Vance strode away, leaving a somewhat disgruntled son and a daughter who was torn between following her father and speaking with her brother. Sharpay turned to Ryan.

"Ry? Were you… were you gonna come? To my audition?" Sharpay asked a little hesitantly. "Do you want me to ask daddy to book you a ticket also?"

Ryan cleared his throat. "Well, it's during the school year, you know."

Sharpay couldn't hide the downcast expression on her face. "Um, fair enough I guess. You can't watch or anything though so I wouldn't have…"

"It's during the school year, so of course I'll want to go. Just because I'm class president doesn't mean I'd ever turn down a trip to New York City," Ryan spoke over the top of his sister, finishing his sentence.

Sharpay's face broke into a smile. "Fabulous."

"Go on then. Before he gets distracted and starts yapping to someone on the phone about a business transaction," Ryan said, shooing Sharpay away.

She nodded, and scurried after her father. Ryan cleared his throat. "So speaking of Juilliard auditions, Kelsi, do you still want my help this week finalising your submission?"

Kelsi nodded. "If you don't mind."

"Course I don't mind. So Troy, what was with the ranking that my dad was talking about?" Ryan asked, shifting the conversation away from Juilliard auditions.

"Oh, they have these rankings of players around the country," Troy explained dismissively.

"Troy is in the list of top 25 point guards in the country," Gabriella said proudly.

Troy turned to her in surprise. "How did you know that?"

"I know all sorts of things about you, Troy," Gabriella said elusively.

"No really. I don't talk about that stuff, ever. Unless you've been talking to Chad or my father about it…"

"Okay, okay. I did a Google search on you. And found you on that Scout Hoops site," she admitted.

"You did a Google search on me?" Troy asked, his lips curving into a teasing smile.

"I was bored," Gabriella said defensively.

"You are so adorable," Troy murmured, shifting his chair towards hers.

Gabriella's nervous smile melted into his lips as the pair met for a soft kiss.

The group averted their eyes away from Troy and Gabriella in semi disgust.

"We're trying to eat here," Martha said in amusement.

* * *

Theodore was running around madly backstage. He felt like a large portion of the blame for the disaster of the morning rehearsal was upon his shoulders. Theodore Gallagher now very much so was aware that his calling was on the stage – not behind the scenes. However he was also not a quitter, and with or without him, _Once Upon A Time_ was due to open in less than a week's time. He preferred it to be with him. He was wearing a headset, running about chanting strings of orders at the lighting crew, at the various prop assistants, at the sound technician.

He glanced about in the wings wildly. The scene on stage, featuring Esmeralda, Cameron and Lily, was about to finish. In the wings, Gabriella _should_ have been waiting to make her entrance.

Should have being the operative term.

He ran over to the microphone which spoke over the dressing room PA's.

"Gabriella Montez required stage right."

* * *

Meanwhile in Gabriella's dressing room, she was pressed up against the dresser with a set of hands doing their very best to crinkle up the costume she was wearing, and a set of lips in the process of destroying her make up.

"Troy!" Gabriella gasped. "I have to…"

"One more minute…" Troy murmured, his lips sinking onto her neck and nipping lightly.

Gabriella moaned, partially in frustration and partially in pleasure.

"Okay," she said breathily, allowing his lips to crash into hers once again.

"Gabriella-Montez-required –stage-right-_immediately," _Theodore's nervous rambling squeak came over the PA again.

The door to Gabriella's dressing room came flying open and Ryan appeared, looking impatient.

"What are you two doing?" Ryan demanded.

"We're practising," Troy smirked.

He was beyond annoyed. He was perfectly tolerant of the starry eyed making out which occurred at any given time of the day. When it interfered with business – show business – it crossed the line. Ryan rolled his eyes, snatched a lipstick from the dresser and handed it to Gabriella. "Hurry up, and put this on as I drag you out there."

Gabriella glanced back at Troy and giggled as Ryan dragged her away. Troy winked cheekily.

* * *

"Well the second run through was far better than the first," Ryan said optimistically, as the Wildcats hung out at the front of Lava Springs. "If you two can keep your hands off each other, we might be able to go through a whole show without people missing cues."

"Maybe I need to start making sure my dressing room door is locked," Gabriella mused.

"I will have some control when we're actually doing the show," Troy offered. "Give a guy a break, I can't see my girlfriend tonight."

"You've spent all of today together and you get all of tomorrow together," Kelsi pointed out. Ryan had spent five minutes ranting and raving about Troy's inability to keep his hands to himself and how it was affecting the show. She understood his point perfectly, and whereas she appreciated just how smitten the couple were with each other, there was a line which they were indeed dancing upon crossing.

"Not good enough," Troy murmured, pressing his lips sweetly to Gabriella's.

"Anyway, I'm going to take off. Kelsi, a lift?" Ryan offered, assuming she was going to say yes.

"Oh, no it's fine. Jason is coming to pick me up in his mom's car," Kelsi said with a smile.

And in perfect timing, Jason's car appeared in the pick up zone.

"See, Jason and Kelsi get to hang out tonight," Troy grumbled.

Kelsi gave them a sympathetic smile. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

The other three waved to Jason, who merely waved back. His attention was all on his girlfriend who slid into the passenger seat. Troy, Gabriella and Ryan all witnessed a tender kiss between the two.

"Aww," Gabriella said.

"Ew," Ryan said, wrinkling up his nose. "Okay I'm going. Try not to let Gabriella's mom catch the two of you making out while you wait for her to arrive. I don't think it's going to help the situation."

"You think?" Troy called after him.

Ryan laughed. "See you."

"Finally, just you and I again," Troy said softly, his arms capturing Gabriella by the waist.

"Um, did you just hear what Ryan said? I think it is sound advice," Gabriella said warningly.

Despite the words she had just spoken, she made little effort to prevent Troy from ignoring her and pressing his lips to hers, initiating a soft kiss.

"See… no mom interruption," Troy declared after pulling apart.

"Speaking of my mom, I'm kinda terrified of the talk which will inevitably happen tonight," Gabriella said, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, I kinda darted straight to bed last night after we got home, avoiding my dads inquisition."

"I do feel guilty," Gabriella admitted. "Not once have I ever broken a promise to my mom."

"But… okay… wasn't the spirit of the promise about the activity she was concerned would go on? We only made out that night," Troy said diplomatically.

"I know you're trying to make me feel better, but that doesn't change what I did."

Troy sighed. "I feel bad. It's my fault this happened."

Gabriella shook her head. "No Troy, it's not. I made the decision to ask you to stay over. You gave me the option to back out. And I could have, I wouldn't have felt terrible about insisting that you should go home and just avoid talking to your dad. I'm comfortable with the fact that I'm a complete square and that you know that."

"Okay you are _not_ a complete square, just a bit of one," Troy teased. "And I love you for it."

"What did my mom say to you in the kitchen?"

"What do you mean?" Troy said, playing dumb.

"Oh come on, I'm not stupid."

"It wasn't a big deal. Just an overprotective parent remark. It's cool."

Gabriella sighed, annoyance seeping through. "I can't believe she would do that."

"It's gonna be fine, babe. I don't think your mom is going to write you off because of one mistake. And I don't blame her for being all protective of you. You're all she's got, you know?"

Gabriella relented. Every so often Troy would observe the wave of sadness that would overcome his girlfriend. She so rarely spoke about her father, and normally when she did it was in the context of recalling a positive memory. But there were times like these when Troy was reminded of the sadness which haunted her inner soul.

"Yeah, I know," Gabriella said softly, her eyes down cast.

"Come here," Troy murmured.

Suddenly, being caught in a compromising position by a parent was the last thing on Gabriella's mind. She was engulfed within the warm cocoon that was Troy's loving hug, and everything was right in the world.

* * *

After dinner both Sharpay and Ryan had disappeared into their requisite rooms. Sharpay was in her room, mulling over her musical script. She'd memorised every line, every note and every dance move weeks earlier. Over the last week though, she had discovered a certain problem that she was having with her character. A part of her wanted to demand that Kelsi change the script, however even Sharpay knew that such a drastic change at such a late stage would not be dealt with well by most of the other performers. She and Ryan were both true performers and were fine with such last minute changes. The amateurs in the show would be less likely to be able to cope with a sudden modification. And so here Sharpay sat, a week after her questions had began to form, still trying to work out exactly how she was supposed to portray the scenario.

Sharpay quickly made the decision to pad up the hallway to Ryan's bedroom. She knocked tentatively on the door, to have Ryan call her in. Sharpay glanced around his bedroom, a room which never failed to fill her with inspiration. The soft blue walls were adorned with Broadway musical posters – Rent, Hairspray, Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, Mamma Mia – just to name a few.

"Ry? Can I get your opinion on something about the fall musical?"

"Sure," Ryan said, spinning around on his desk chair to smile at his sister. He was surprised that she had come in at all, normally it was him going up the hallway to talk to her. It seemed she was making a habit out of coming to him.

Sharpay closed the door behind her, and settled herself on Ryan's bed, sitting cross legged with one of his pillows on her lap.

"Esmeralda comes to the point where she realises she needs to move on from her love for Mike. But… I'm not sure why it is that she winds up with Cameron at the end. She can't just go from loving Mike to loving Cameron like that," Sharpay said, clicking her fingers. "I understand that Kelsi seems to write these pieces with an overall _happily ever after_ theme. But… it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Esmeralda wants to be a famous show jumper, right? Shouldn't she be putting all of her efforts into her horses, rather than worrying about Cameron?"

Ryan paused, glancing at Sharpay suspiciously. "Are we actually talking about Esmeralda and Cameron… or perhaps is this conversation really about you and…"

"I won't deny that there are certain similarities between our situations, but I am talking about Esmeralda, Ryan," Sharpay said firmly.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Right."

"Well?"

"The end of _Once Upon A Time_ isn't really the end. It's only… the beginning," Ryan mused. "Esmeralda isn't in love with Cameron at the end of the play. She is merely…. Open to exploring something. Yes she wants to be a famous show jumper but that doesn't mean she can't also find time for love. The two aren't mutually exclusive."

"Yes but… if Esmeralda has only just gotten over Mike, shouldn't she be embracing being a single, free, independent woman?" Sharpay asked.

"If it were a show about feminism or something maybe. But… it's a show about love, Shar. It's a play about… about how deep down, everyone really wants to find someone to love, and not only to love, but to be loved. Even Esmeralda wants to be loved."

"Hmm. Interesting," Sharpay said. "I can work with that."

"I guess also though… Esmeralda will need to be careful," Ryan added cautiously. "You know… Cameron was all into Lily, they don't break up that long ago. So… even though Cameron obviously really likes Esmeralda, there are obviously still loose ends with Lily."

Sharpay stared at Ryan. "Where on earth in the script does it cover any of that stuff about Lily? Did Kelsi tell you more about the background of the characters."

"No, she didn't and it doesn't _directly _say any of that. But… one could argue that is the situation. If… if you were to look at the bigger picture."

"I already said that we are talking about the musical, not real life," Sharpay said firmly, giving Ryan a look.

"But we can always use our characters and their lives to reflect upon our own situations."

Sharpay smirked. "I'm sure you can really do that. Is Lily some girl that Nate met on the internet?"

Ryan's eyes widened. "Excuse me?" he spluttered.

Sharpay hopped off the bed, moving towards the door. "You really shouldn't leave your e-mail account open, Ry."

"What on earth were you doing using my computer?" Ryan demanded.

"I had to print something the other day for school, but I had run out of ink," she said smoothly. "I couldn't care less who you talk to online. But in this household with our very Republican father, a prominent business leader in the southwestern United States – I'd be careful about leaving your e-mail account open."

"Why were you looking at my e-mail account, even if it was open?" Ryan asked indignantly, not addressing the actual point Sharpay was making.

"It was open on the screen, hard to miss. Relax, I didn't read anything, I do have _some_ respect for your privacy. But there are some very questionable subject titles from one individual in there."

Ryan was completely bewildered, unsure of exactly what to say or how to react. She was right, it had been stupid of him to ever leave his e-mail account open on his computer. It wasn't the first time that Sharpay had been into his room to use his computer. What perhaps perturbed him the most was that this was the first indirect reference that either of the two had made to each other about his sexuality.

"You're right. I shouldn't have left it open," Ryan managed to say.

"Well, you've learnt your lesson," Sharpay said, as she smoothed her hands down her denim skirt. "Anyway… do you want to go through our dance?"

Ryan nodded. "Sure."

* * *

Troy ran cross court in his backyard, dribbling the ball as he dodged an invisible defender, faked left and broke right, spun around and then made a clean jump shot.

"Sweet," Jack Bolton's voice came from the back door.

Troy glanced up. He'd come out into the backyard not long after dinner; first practicing free throws, then moving onto a series of lay up drills, and now back at his signature jump shot from the perimeter.

"How long have you been watching?" Troy asked.

"A bit from the window while I was doing the dishes. Not long out here."

Troy nodded, and turned back around to retrieve the ball which was bobbing around on the court.

"Did you see you moved up a ranking?" Jack asked casually as he stepped out closer to where Troy was now setting up for a free throw.

Troy nodded. "Yup."

"Have you thought any more about going to check out Gonzaga or…"

Troy made his shot, the ball circled the rim and promptly fell through the net. He allowed the ball to roll around the court and took a few steps toward his father.

"Thought about yeah. I'll probably go check out Butler, things are just really crazy at the moment obviously so…"

"That's fine, just querying. Have you thought about adding any more schools to your interest list?"

"I've got a few on there," Troy said.

"UCLA and North Carolina do not count, Troy. You and I both know that…"

"Yeah, yeah. No chance in hell."

"About… the U of A offer… and what you said to them…"

"What, about Chad?" Troy asked.

"You crossed the line Troy. Those guys were offering you something people would dream of and you…"

"All I did was tell them the truth. I know they want me, and as much as you want me to take their offer, I don't think I will. I don't care if they retract it."

"It was good of you to put in a word for Chad. But what you said was risky, it could have blown up in your face," Jack said. "I know I was pushing you over summer about the U of A scholarship but… you know, I think you can do better now."

"Maybe."

"You don't seem so sure."

"Have you looked at the other guys out there? They've all been made real offers, not just offers from the local colleges."

"You do realise that both Gonzaga and Butler are as good as offered? You follow them up and they'll be eating from the palm of your hand."

Troy sighed. "Whatever. Maybe you've been right all along, I shouldn't have been doing the musical."

"You're playing the best that you've ever played," Jack said, surprised at Troy's words. "And still improving. I don't know if it's because you just thrive under pressure, if you're happier and so you play better, or what. I really do think that you should be giving it another few weeks before you start to make assumptions about what offers will and won't be made. Players who come from teams that are higher in the rankings, in basketball concentrated areas, are going to be paid attention to first. In the lead up to and then during playoffs is when the scouts will be out and about. Coach Lang thinks you're in with a shot of being picked for the McDonalds All American team if you keep improving."

Troy shrugged, and turned around to go retrieve the bell again. "I'd like to set up scrimmages at the U of A and NMS again. To be honest, I don't think _either_ school is where I'll want to be. But might as well take advantage of the opportunity to scrimmage with their guys if they'll let me."

Jack nodded. "So… can we talk about last night?"

"Could I say no to that?"

"Sorry. Not going to happen."

Troy sighed as he bent down to scoop up the ball. "I was hoping you were just going to forget about that."

"Sorry, no chance of that happening."

"I'm sorry I lied about where I was. I know I shouldn't have."

"Too right you shouldn't have lied. I'm not as much of a dinosaur as these grey hairs would suggest. I remember what it was like being a teenager. And you know, your mother and I are pretty understanding. We turn a blind eye to a lot. We know that when you're going to a 'gathering' that it's a party. We know that when 'the neighbours are going to check in' that it means that there is no active parental supervision. We turn a blind eye to it because we trust you. When you start abusing that trust…"

"Dad, I know," Troy cut in. "It's not something I plan to make a habit of. I was just… I was really stressed that night."

"Your reason for lying concerns me Troy, what do you mean you just didn't want to come home?"

"Because we had just lost, dad!" Troy exclaimed. "We lost a game, I didn't play as well as I should have, I didn't lead the team well enough. Then I had this huge fight with Zeke and Chad and… the last thing I wanted to do was come home and have you making me watch the replay and going over my stats."

"So you storm in and slam some doors around and run to your room and hide. You don't lie to us about where you are. Especially not when Gabriella's mom wasn't at home."

"But it wasn't like that," Troy protested. "It really wasn't."

Jack exhaled. He believed Troy, he really did. But it didn't mitigate the lying.

"Why shouldn't I ground you for longer?" Jack asked.

"Because I'm seventeen – hell, I'm almost eighteen. And I know it's the 'under my roof, live by my rules' but… I don't think punishing me is really going to accomplish anything," Troy said honestly.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Maybe."

"If it would make you feel better, I suppose you could ground me again. Just… not next weekend," Troy mused. "Or over Thanksgiving break. Since I offered to assist Jason with his film and now I want to fulfil that obligation."

"And why not next weekend?" Jack said, raising his eyebrows.

"Umm… coz… Sharpay and Ryan are having a post musical celebration gathering," Troy said sheepishly, before quickly adding, "Which is _actually_ a gathering not a party; and there are going to be actual adults present in the house."

"Troy… if I don't punish you… are you going to get how serious I am about this? How much this bothers me?"

Troy nodded. "I do get it. I do… and I do honestly feel bad."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Maybe if you clean out the garage over Thanksgiving break, we can call it even."

"Can Gabriella come over while I'm doing it?"

* * *

"This is nice, you and I having a girls night. We used to do this all the time, snuggle up and watch girly movies," Elena remarked. "And I must say, your selection of ice cream was also excellent."

"If only we could watch Titanic one night and Jack didn't die," Gabriella remarked, reaching over to break a piece of chocolate from the block.

"Okay, what film next? I think the Sound of Music is in order, what do you say?"

"Mommy, why don't we just get the talk over and done with?" Gabriella said quietly. It was painful knowing that her mother was just waiting for the 'right moment.' The right moment wasn't going to come.

"The talk?" Elena said with a forced smile.

"You know, about how disappointed you are in me and that you can't trust me anymore and that you don't want me to see Troy anymore and…"

Elena held her hand up. "Yes. That talk."

Troy's insistence that everything was going to be okay had provided Gabriella with the hope of a kiss and a cuddle and a slap on the wrist and then all would be right with the world. However that wasn't the case. Elena wasn't one to scold, to reprimand, to forbid Gabriella from leaving the house. But it was the look of betrayal in her eyes which hit Gabriella somewhere deep.

"Yes. We need to discuss it." Elena sighed. "It's so hard for me, all of this… parenting stuff. On this level. As soon as your father and I knew we were having a little girl, he immediately declared that dating would be his realm of territory, insisting that you wouldn't be dating until you were 30."

Gabriella's face broke into a smile. "Did he really say that?"

Elena nodded. "Of course I told him that was ridiculous, since he and I began dating when I was 19, and he wasn't my first boyfriend. He would tell me that was a prime example, that there was no way that he was good enough for me and now he understood why my father would look at him with such contempt. He now understood that no boy would ever be good enough for his little girl."

"Mom? I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm… a young woman."

Elena smiled wistfully. "That's what Troy said, he used those words to describe you."

"When you gave him your speech?"

"He told you?"

"I made him tell me. You weren't exactly discreet with insisting that you had to go and help him in the kitchen."

"You are a young woman. Which is why I've been very open minded about your relationship with Troy. I know you're both mature young adults, I know that you take the relationship very seriously. I have been very accepting of that," Elena was choosing her words very carefully. "But Gabriella? In return, I ask for something very simple. I ask that you are open with me, that you are honest with me, and that I can trust you."

"I know that," Gabriella said, hanging her head. "And I'm sorry."

"I'm not going to begrudge you for making one mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. But Gabriella… just remember that some mistakes have higher prices than others."

"So, what, no further punishment?" Gabriella asked, slightly amazed.

"Do I need to add further punishment?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No."

Elena nodded. "Good. Then no."

"Does that mean you are removing the necessity to show Felix around?" Gabriella asked hopefully.

"Don't push your luck."

Gabriella smiled. "Okay."

"Don't betray my trust again Gabriella. I say that I don't want to have to do the hard lined parental thing. But if I need to… I will. This isn't about you and Troy. It's about you and I. Do you understand that?"

Elena's tone was filled with warning. It wasn't just a smokescreen, it wasn't being said for the sake of sounding threatening. Gabriella knew that she'd been lucky, she knew that the cornerstone of her relationship with her mom was the trust they had in one another.

"I do I understand that, I really do."

Gabriella wasn't capable of lying. Elena knew that. If she'd come back from her business trip that weekend and directly asked Gabriella if Troy had been over – she knew her daughter would have confessed all at that very moment.

Elena nodded. "Okay. Then… I'm willing to… try to move on from this. So… the Sound of Music? Nothing like a song to make things right again."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Sorry the ending sucks. Blame the people who are pressuring me to update. And my distraction AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ZAC ON THE RED CARPET EEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKK! Ahem. So there is now a week left until _Once Upon A Time_ has its opening night - and also only a handful of chapters remaining in Part 1 of _The Someday Trilogy. _I am in the midst of writing the final chapter now. It is a killer. Send me your love which will translate into motivation. Pretty please? :-) -Dani xo


	49. Chapter 48

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make no money from it. Really.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I am super tipsy while updating this. Note I wrote it before I started drinking. Ha. Wanted to update tonight rather than wait coz I might be too hung over to contemplate fic in the morning. Woot. Enjoy. Please review. Please. I love reviews they make me so happy.

* * *

**Someday Chapter 48**

Troy and Gabriella arrived early at school Monday morning. Gabriella had almost anticipated that her mother was going to insist upon taking Gabriella to school from now on, or that Taylor give her a lift. However some higher force seemed to have intervened, with the peace reached on Saturday night sticking. Troy hadn't shied away from suggesting to Gabriella that he pick her up fifteen minutes earlier than usual. Fifteen minutes earlier equated to fifteen additional minutes of making out in the parking lot.

However it didn't quite turn out that way; as when Troy pulled up into his parking space (well, his unofficial parking space that no one else would dare to take) they spotted Chad sitting under a tree by the parking lot, textbook perched in his lap.

"It's like an alternate universe," Troy remarked.

"There is such a thing as studying too much. Taylor told me she was studying with him nearly all weekend," Gabriella mused. She was already shifting over to open the door on her side of the car.

"Oh he'll be right, why don't we just…" Troy began to say.

Gabriella knew exactly what he was about to suggest, and cut in. "Troy. Are you or are you not trying to repair your friendship with Chad?"

"I am…" Troy said slowly, not yet making the connection between the two principles.

"Do you think that sitting here making out, while your best friend is sitting within eye line stressing out, is the way to do that?"

Troy pouted a little, but he knew that Gabriella was right. "You're right. And I do want to fix things. And we should distract him because you're also right that he might overload with the studying. Doesn't change that I'm a horny boy and I like making out with you," Troy said cheekily.

"Oh you have such a way with words that makes me want to swoon," Gabriella responded teasingly, rolling her eyes.

"You love it. And feel glad that I haven't started suggesting lunch time blow jobs yet." Troy said it like he was genuinely being a good guy by having refrained from making the suggestion, that it was common practice for people to engage in such activity.

"Yet?" Gabriella repeated with a smirk. "You say that like you have the intention of making such a suggestion one day."

"Well… umm… maybe?" Troy said cheekily.

"Come on, let's go," she urged, rolling her eyes and opening the door of the truck.

The pair navigated across the parking lot to the grassy area hand in hand.

"Morning Chad," Gabriella called out.

"Sup dude," Troy said casually, still at the stage of re-establishing the ease of communication between them.

Chad tore his eyes away from the book, spotting the approaching couple.

"Hi," he said distractedly, his coldness not a reflection of his friendship with Troy, but rather of the fixation he had upon the book in front of him.

"If you don't know it by now…" Gabriella began to say.

"That might be true for the actual doing calculations. But this whole definitions section is different. Isn't there a link between memory and how many times you have reread the material?"

"Umm… well technically, yeah," Gabriella admitted, unable to argue back against his theory. "But I talked to Taylor last night and she said you've been doing really, really well."

"Well I want to keep studying anyway," Chad said stubbornly, his tone one indicating no nonsense. "Just for a bit longer. So you can either be your genius self and sit here and help me or just go back into Bolton's truck and make out like I'm sure he wants to."

Gabriella immediately dropped her book bag onto the ground and sat down cross legged beside Chad on the grass.

"You could have at least pretended to give option B a moment of thought," Troy said under his breath – but loud enough to be heard.

Gabriella shot him a dirty look before turning back to Chad. She took the textbook from him and proceeded to shoot some of the example multiple choice definition questions at him. Gradually their group of friends arrived. The grassy area had to be traversed across to get from the front student parking lot to the fountain where they usually met. When Martha pulled up in the parking lot with Kelsi in tow, she spotted the threesome beneath the tree. So too did Ryan as he arrived, and then Taylor.

"Gabriella, you don't need to test him. He's so ready for this!" Taylor said, aghast. She snatched the book from Gabriella.

"Relax Taylor, I'm the one who said I wanted to keep studying," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "Don't get all shitty with her. Now, can all you talking people like move aside? Or shut up? Or just go over to the fountain like normal? I'm trying to concentrate."

"Sup y'all!" Jason's voice called from the parking lot.

Jason and Zeke were emerging from Zeke's car, heading over to where everyone was gathered in the changed meeting location. Chad glanced up from his notes, looking more than a little annoyed at the added presence of more people. He knew he should have gone straight to the library. However, for autumn, it was a warm, sunny day, and with the weather becoming cooler and cooler, Chad had been drawn to the big old Oak tree. But now that everyone was flapping around talking about musical rehearsals and other events of the weekend, he was wishing for the sanctuary of the library.

"Hey guys," Troy greeted his friends with fist pumps.

"Hows the math?" Zeke asked Chad.

"It bites," came Chad's short response.

"Hey captain," Zeke said cheerfully. "So, are you coming to practice this week?"

Troy nodded. "Every day but tomorrow. But I'll be stepping back and Chad's gonna have to step up and run things."

Chad's attention was now grabbed; he promptly discarded his notebook and stood up to join the conversation. He cleared his throat. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"What do you mean?" Troy asked.

"It's still your team. It's only one game that you're out for."

"Chad, what I said to the scouts from U of A… I meant it."

Chad gave Troy a tight smile. "Okay… but seriously man. What if I don't pass the test?" Chad asked.

"Dude…"

"No really. Just curious who you're going to appoint to captain the team on Friday night."

Jason and Zeke perked up, glancing at one another slightly competitively.

Troy cleared his throat. "Actually, dad and I talked about this. And _not_ because we think you're not going to pass the test…" he added quickly.

"Dude, it's fine. I'd be more worried if you hadn't talked about it. You can all be positive as you want, but reality is that there is a chance I won't pass. You should be prepared for that."

Troy nodded. "Yeah."

"So… what's the verdict?" Zeke attempted to sound casual.

"We were thinking we would ask Xavier," Troy revealed, glancing backwards and forwards between Zeke and Jason who both appeared more than a little disgruntled. "Obviously you're both more experienced than him but he'll be stepping up to starting point guard on Friday night anyway. And the way the guys are developing so far, my money would be on them voting him in for captain next year."

Zeke relented. "I guess. Probably. That makes sense."

"But that so is not going to happen, because Chad _will_ pass the exam today," Troy said firmly.

"Dude, not only do I have to pass, but I have to get _eighty_ percent," Chad reminded him.

"I wish you would stop talking so negatively. You did so well on the practice tests I was giving you yesterday," Taylor said. "Between Gabriella and I, you could not be better prepared for this exam."

"Glad to see you have no shortness of self esteem about the matter," Chad teased.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Yes, Gabriella being the genius and I'm just the hard ass."

"Chad, math is very clear cut. You either get it or you don't. If you were getting high marks in Taylor's practice tests, it means you get it," Gabriella pointed out.

"Look guys, I'm just preparing for the worst. Eighty percent is a lot. I know I've learnt a lot. If you had been tutoring me for a regular exam, I'm sure I would have passed – which in itself says a lot about how well both you girls have done at teaching me because I literally understood nothing a week ago. I'd rather be ready for the worst than be let down if the worst happens and I wasn't ready for it. Okay?"

* * *

Students trickled in the direction of their homerooms. With Troy's arm draped over Gabriella's shoulders, it was the two who led the rest of their friends into the room they had all become so accustomed to, having not only homeroom but also Darbus' drama class in that very location.

"Look guys, you're like, everywhere," Jason said, glancing around in awe.

Posters advertising _Once Upon A _Time were plastered all over the door to Darbus' room and the surrounding walls. The posters featured photographs of each of the six lead characters as taken on Friday night at rehearsal.

"The photo of me is terrible!" Gabriella exclaimed, staring at the poster aghast.

"Don't be silly," Kelsi said comfortingly.

Troy tentatively opened the classroom door, only to see movie poster sized versions of the flyer adorning the classroom walls. He let out a low whistle.

"Opening night is this Friday? Gee, I'd forgotten about that," Troy said sarcastically.

"Aren't they fabulous?" Sharpay's voice rang out.

She was standing behind Theodore, who was perched on a chair as he was tacking up the final of the posters.

"We were only meant to get the extra sets of fliers printed, but I convinced daddy to sponsor us to get these posters done. They really… make a statement."

"You couldn't have gotten them to air brush out that blemish on my chin, could you?" Gabriella said, stepping a little closer to the poster.

"What blemish? Your skin is perfect!" Taylor exclaimed.

Ryan couldn't help but smirk at the poster design Sharpay had approved, with her own photograph a bit larger and centred on the page. The text also had _Starring: Sharpay Evans_ in a large font, with the other cast names in smaller text.

"They do make a statement," Ryan said. "Good work, Shar."

"Is this right, Sharpay?" Theodore asked, hopping down from the chair to observe the poster. "Because I really need to get to my homeroom."

"That's all for now," Sharpay said crisply. "Just make sure you get the rest of the posters put up where we discussed by lunch time."

"Sure thing, no worries," Theodore said brightly. "And Gabriella?

Gabriella winced. "Yes Theodore?"

"I think you look radiant. This blemish you are seeing is rather fictitious if you ask me."

"Well, she didn't ask you…" Troy began to say, but felt a thwack against his arm.

"Thanks Theodore," Gabriella said politely.

Theodore smiled. "I'll see you guys later."

He picked up his pile of posters and headed out the classroom door.

"What was that?" Troy exclaimed as they all moved towards the back to sit down.

"I was being polite!" Gabriella said. "He complimented me. I didn't see you rushing in to assure me that the hideous photo is okay."

"Yeah but… you can't be too polite to him or he will get the wrong idea!"

"He's not a complete idiot. I'm not saying I'm going to go out of my way to be nice to him, I mean, he still frustrates me to no end. But he's cut down on all the 'my Nina' crap. And he was really good with his job on the weekend – and extremely patient with you Mister 'Let's make Gabriella late for all of her cues' Bolton," Gabriella pointed out.

Sharpay was still in the front corner smoothing down the poster. Zeke tentatively approached her, glancing back at his friends for only a moment.

"Hi Sharpay," Zeke said casually. "Your posters look really amazing."

Sharpay hesitated for a moment. In the past, Zeke had always had this certain look in his eye when he communicated with her. This puppy dog look, this imploring look where all he wanted was for her to respond to his effort to initiate a conversation. Since he'd been going out with Monica, the puppy dog look had melted away, and instead, it was replaced with something a whole lot scarier. It was a lot more… real.

She'd spent two weeks avoiding any sort of conversation with Zeke. Two weeks pretending like she hadn't been that ridiculously drunken girl, who for a moment in time had let down her guard and told Zeke exactly what was on her mind. He had respectfully picked up on her efforts to avoid him and gone with it, not making any effort to engage. And yet here he was again, and Sharpay wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't ready to talk to him about any of what may or may not have been said at the party. She didn't even remember exactly what may or may not have been said – and she preferred it that way.

"Yes, they are amazing," Sharpay settled upon saying.

"I'm really looking forward to the show."

"You're coming?" Sharpay heard her voice squeak a little.

"Well yeah, course I am. With Bolton and Gabriella and your brother in it, and since Kelsi wrote it… I wouldn't miss it for anything."

Sharpay turned away, moving towards her desk. Zeke swallowed as he followed her. He didn't even know why he was talking to her, he didn't know what had compelled him to approach her. All he knew was that there had been a moment between them, and he couldn't forget about that moment. Especially not when it was that moment which had officially put the nail in the coffin of his relationship with Monica.

"And umm… you know, since you're the star, I bet it's going to be a really great show," Zeke found himself saying.

Sharpay smiled to herself before turning around to face him. "Hopefully. I know I have my part completely under control, but I'm not so certain about some of the other performers."

"Umm… so Ryan mentioned that you guys are having a gathering thing on Saturday night after the final show, and that you don't mind if some of us come along."

"A few extras are acceptable. It really isn't a party, so if you arrive with your whole team and the cheerleaders in tow, I will not be impressed in the slightest."

Zeke smirked. "I'm sure we can refrain from allowing that to happen. Anyway, sounds like it'll be fun."

And with that, Zeke strode away, holding his head high. It took every ounce of personal strength to have not become a blubbering idiot. In the past he had been plagued with a loose tongue disease, where he found himself babbling to her about what a wonderful performer she was, how much he admired her. The disease had remained at bay though – possibly because she hadn't shooed him away. Nevertheless, Zeke was in a daze, and as he slid into his seat, Jason leaned over to speak lowly to him.

"Dude, you okay? What was that about?" Jason asked.

"Umm… just talking. She… she talked to me," Zeke responded, his tone filled with disbelief.

Monica chose that exact moment to enter the classroom and take her seat in front of Zeke, throwing him a cursory hello, in line with the polite forced interactions the two had been undertaking. Her presence was all it took to quash any further discussion of Zeke's interaction with Sharpay.

The bell rang a couple of minutes later, Ms. Darbus promptly standing up, closing the door and beginning to run through the notices. As per usual, she rushed through the notices pertaining to sports and academia, and slowed down and began speaking with emphasis when reaching the notices pertaining to the performing arts program.

"A reminder for students in our drama class that our joint excursion with the junior drama class to enter the world of Shakespeare at Wednesday's matinee in Santa Fe; your fees are due by lunch time today. If you wait until final period drama, this is too late. You must pay by the end of lunch, please see the cashier at the office."

Chad winced, and tried to form a mental picture of exactly how much cash he had in his wallet.

And finally Darbus reached the most important of all the notices – more important than notices about SAT prep, more important than notices about scholarships and college applications.

"And the most vital of our student notices for today is a reminder that there are only four sleeps until opening night of our Fall Musicale, _Once Upon A Time._" Ms. Darbus paused for dramatic effect, a pause which was filled by a smattered applause from each of the Evans twins – for Ryan,

There are limited tickets available for our three shows, Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening. I remind all students that proximity to the arts is soothing for the soul. I encourage you all to demonstrate support for the East High drama club and the shows performers. Profits from the show are to be channelled straight back into the performing arts program at East High, in an attempt to regain the equipment lost in Septembers devastating fire."

* * *

"So are you guys all excited about coming on Saturday night?" Ryan asked cheerfully.

"You mean to your party?" Zeke asked.

Ryan coughed. "Firstly, it's a _gathering_, not a party. Secondly, I actually meant to the show itself."

"I think it's going to be awesome," Jason declared. "Both the show _and_ the gathering."

"It's got to be better than the winter musical after party last year," Ryan pointed out.

"You guys had an after party for the winter musical?" Zeke asked, looking at Troy accusingly. "Why did we not know about this?"

Troy's eyes widened, staring at Ryan in a _my God you cannot elaborate upon this story_ look.

"It wasn't worth mentioning I imagine. We just hung out at Darbus's house and watched a movie," Ryan answered, somehow missing Troy's stare.

Jason and Zeke began to laugh. "You were hanging out at Darbus's house?" Jason managed to say between fits of laughter.

Kelsi looked at her boyfriend curiously. "Why is that so funny? We used to meet there for the drama club quite often, still do occasionally."

"We've been to Mr. Davis's house for decathlon meetings before," Taylor piped up.

"Meetings are one thing," Zeke said. "But hanging out? Having a party there?"

"Okay it wasn't a PARTY, we watched a film," Troy reminded them.

"Who are you guys to talk? You hang out at Troy's, don't you?" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, so?" Jason asked.

"Well, you're hanging out at a teacher's house when you do that."

"That is so different," Zeke pointed out. "We go there to hang out with Troy and… Coach is…. He's Coach! It's totally different!"

"And Darbus is a complete nut job," Jason added.

"I happen to like Ms Darbus," Kelsi said defiantly.

"Errr…. Me too…" Jason said meekly. "When I say nut job, I mean that in a _good_ way."

"Hey Shar!" Ryan suddenly called out – henceforth saving Jason from an extended inquisition.

Everyone looked up to see Sharpay approaching. She was carrying a Gucci clutch – very fashionable but hardly practical for school. Hence that in her arms she had a folder, a textbook, a pink fluffy pencil case, her musical script and a series of various computer print outs.

"Gabriella, I require your assistance," Sharpay said primly. "Gina – who, as you know, is in charge of the merchandise and refreshment stalls for the show – has given me these… okay… I don't know what she's given me. Something about the prices and profits and I really don't know what it's all about. But she wanted to know if it's okay, for some reason."

Gabriella examined the sheets that Sharpay had handed over. "Cost price… projected sales based on last years sales… proposed prices…" Gabriella mused. "Oh, so she wants to know if her proposed prices will meet the budget. Sure, I can work that out. It won't take long at all. When does she need it by?"

Sharpay cleared her throat. "Well… since I was meant to ask you about it a few days ago and I forgot… is today acceptable with you? If it's a problem, I can let her know that you need more time."

Sharpay's tone wasn't one of understanding. It was one of, you _will_ do it today and if you say you can't then I will make it sound like you are the incompetent one for requiring additional time.

Gabriella closed her eyes momentarily, before turning to Taylor. "Taylor, can I borrow your laptop?"

"Sure."

Gabriella looked at Sharpay. "I can do it right now. Luckily, I have the document on my USB."

"Oh," Sharpay said, sounding surprised. "Umm… thanks."

"No worries. I can CC you with my finding, if you like."

"Umm… that's okay. Not my thing. Hence, you know, that I forgot all about it. While I'm talking to you, are you going to be available at all over Thanksgiving break?"

"I'm not going away anywhere, why?" Gabriella asked dubiously.

"I want to hold an executive board drama club meeting, which you will be required to attend. Just to do a wrap up of the musical and all the boring stuff about budgets and plans and goals. And to work out our budget going into the winter musical, because first meeting back after Thanksgiving break we'll start making decisions about what production we want to do."

"Oh okay then. Umm… hang on…"

Gabriella turned toward where Jason, Ryan and Taylor had broken off into their own separate conversation.

"Hey Jason, you still want us to help you with filming your movie next week, right?"

"Uh… yeah. If that's cool. I could really use all the help I can get."

"Have you finalised the schedule?"

Jason snorted. "Hardly. I don't even have a full cast. My lead female backed out."

"I'm sorry… did you say… movie?" Sharpay demanded, stepping closer.

"Umm yeah…" Jason said slowly.

"You're making a movie and _I _was not informed about this?"

"Am I now meant to inform you of stuff that I do?" Jason said. "Is this a thing with the drama club or…"

"You're making a movie, and I have starred in 18 school theatre productions – to be 19 as of this weekend – and you didn't think to let me know?" Sharpay demanded.

"Umm… it's only really a short film. We use movie more as a slang term to describe it."

"You have cameras, yes? And people are in the film, playing roles?"

"Well, yeah," Jason said, as though it were obviously – but not catching onto Sharpay's train of thought.

"Say Jason, I think Sharpay might be interested," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "And since you had that girl pull out…"

"Oh! Sharpay! Do you want to play a part in my movie?" Jason asked brightly, hit with an innovative suggestion.

"Well, duh!" Sharpay said, more than a little exasperated. "And as Ryan has probably informed you, we are in town for all of next week. And with the exception of the workshop my performing arts school, I am fairly available for your little project."

"Oh! Look!" Taylor suddenly said in an outburst. "Chad!!"

After taking his resit algebra test, Chad had come straight to the cafeteria. He forced a smile as he approached, and then slid into the table with their group. It was the first time in a while that they'd all been sitting there together. Between breaking up with Taylor and his fight with Troy, Chad had been at the centre of shifts within group dynamic. However ultimately, they'd all come back together – tentatively perhaps, but together, nonetheless.

"Well?" Gabriella asked, bouncing slightly.

Chad shrugged. "I don't know, I really don't. It was pretty good actually, I answered everything, I seemed to know what I was doing. I just… don't know if it was eighty percent good. I have to go back and see Miss Jacobs after school to find out."

"Works out well. We go get your result, confirm you're back on the team, go straight to practice from there. Off the hook," Troy said cheerfully.

"Bolton, what did I tell you about me not wanting to get my hopes up?"

"Sorry," Troy said sheepishly.

"What are you guys all doing here anyway?" Chad asked, indicating to the musical crew. "I thought you'd be in rehearsals and stuff."

"No, we just have full run throughs at Lava Springs every night but that's it," Ryan explained.

"Oh okay then. And so, what have we done to be graced with your presence?" Chad asked Sharpay.

"What, do I need your permission to sit in this seat?" Sharpay asked.

Chad coughed. "No. You just don't normally hang down here, is all."

"I was just being given the details of my newest starring role in a film," Sharpay said, beaming at Jason.

Chad coughed. "Oh, JC roped you in to help out, did he? So you're going to be hanging there while we've all be summoned to help next weekend?"

"I will not be _hanging_ there," Sharpay repeated indignantly. "I will be performing. I will be inhabiting the role. I will be…"

"Seriously, Sharpay, it's a very small role," Jason said.

"I realise your expertise comes in the behind the scenes area, so I will forgive you for your ignorance. But there are no such things as small roles. Every role an actress has the opportunity to undertake is an opportunity for growth, an opportunity to shine, an opportunity to be seen by the world."

Jason blinked. "Umm… great?"

"So if you could have a copy of the script to me by tomorrow morning, that would be excellent. I prefer it to be bound. And I will get back to you with a list of my requirements."

"Your requirements?" Jason repeated.

"Yes. My requirements. As an actress, I require certain conditions to be worked in, particular types of refreshments in my trailer and…"

"In your _trailer_?" Jason repeated. "Who do you think I am, Spielberg?"

"Hardly," Sharpay scoffed.

* * *

Chad had been nervously sitting among their group of friends during their free period between lunch and final period drama. He hadn't voiced his nervousness, but it was written all across his face. Sharpay had remained hanging with their group of friends, providing Jason with her availability so that he could finally begin to coordinate a shooting schedule over the Wednesday – Sunday period of the following week. Zeke was trying to make it appear that he was intently reading the textbook he was clutching onto, however really he was hanging onto every word of Jason and Sharpay's conversation… well, Sharpay's half, anyway.

Troy turned to Chad spontaneously. "Let's go to the gym and play some ball. There's no class in there this period."

"I'm not allowed in the gym. Remember?" Chad reminded him.

"Do you really give a shit?" Troy scoffed. "And besides, if we got caught, technically they said that until your exam you weren't allowed to use facilities. You've now taken the exam."

Chad only hesitated a moment longer before jumping into gear. "Let's do it."

Troy broadly grinned and immediately jumped up from his place at the picnic table. "See you guys in drama," he said quickly as he gathered his belongings, before hurrying Chad along. "Come on."

Troy didn't want to give Gabriella the chance to talk Chad out of going to the gym when his presence there was questionable.

"Yeah yeah, hold your horses," Chad said impatiently.

"Where are you guys going?" Gabriella asked, looking up from the essay she was working on.

"Away. See you later," Troy said.

"You better not be getting him in trouble," Gabriella said, giving Troy a pointed look.

"He's big and ugly enough to look after himself," Troy called back, winking mischievously.

The guys reached the gym, which as Troy had predicted was available. Chad went and grabbed a couple of basketballs, and they headed to their usual end of the court. It was a routine the guys were familiar with, with only very brief conversation required to organise the rules.

"Start off with first to five?" Troy asked.

Chad nodded. "Bring it."

Troy and Chad fell straight back into rhythms of the past. One on one had always been a test for both of them. Troy's strength was within his precise shooting; but with Chad's excellent offensive and defensive moves, it was a test for Troy to get the opportunity to shoot. Chad meanwhile was forced to be at the top of his shooting game to have any chance of taking out the game.

A week ago, throwing the two into a one on one game would have been potentially dangerous. They weren't easy on one another – they never had been. The advantage of playing with someone for so many years was knowing exactly what their strengths are, and using them to your advantage. For each of the guys, playing the other was one of the toughest challenges they could face.

It was Chad who finally emerged as the victor – the two shaking hands respectfully.

"I missed this," Troy said quietly.

"This?"

"Us. You and me. Hanging. Playing ball for fun."

"I haven't just played for fun in ages," Chad remarked. "I actually haven't picked up a basketball in a week."

"You serious? If I were you, this last week, I'd have been playing at home every day."

Chad shrugged. "Maybe that shows you're more serious about it than I am."

"I don't mean for training purposes. I mean coz I love it. Coz it's like… even though basketball is what stresses me out half the time, sometimes it takes shooting hoop after hoop after hoop to de-stress."

"Me too, usually. Just… didn't want to this last week."

Troy coughed and then cleared his throat. "Chad?"

"Troy."

"About… umm… about…"

Troy wasn't sure exactly how he was supposed to go into it, but he knew that they needed to get to it sooner or later. Chad knew exactly where Troy was going and held up his hand to stop Troy from saying anything else.

"Look… a lot has been said. On Thursday I had this really exhausting conversation with Taylor going over a lot of what went down with me and her. Just like how I heard from Gab that you guys had this really massive talk on Wednesday night about stuff. Me and you… we don't do that. We can't do that. I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Me neither," Troy admitted quietly. "But I know that we wouldn't have gotten so pissed at each other unless we were friends. If I didn't… you know… care about you and stuff… then I couldn't give a shit about any of this. It got all intense and angry because we are friends. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah I get that," Chad said.

"I know that I haven't been… totally there. But… sometimes, I'm just not a mind reader, you know? Maybe I should have realised that shit was going down with you but… you should have told me. I told you way back ages ago that I'm never too busy for you man, and that's the truth."

"I know that it's just… I guess it's weird you know, you being all serious with Gabriella."

"Do you… do you not like Gabriella?" Troy asked, more than a little concerned.

"I think Gabriella is awesome! I know you're fully serious about her. I get that, I really do, and I totally support it. I guess it's just… our lives are different, you know?"

"Just because things are different, doesn't mean that we're less… I dunno... I guess… important? To each other."

Chad coughed. "Okay this is getting girly, that's exactly what I didn't want."

"Chad seriously though… is everything gonna be cool? I know it's not just magically gonna be better but… will it be?" Troy asked.

"Yeah man. It'll be cool. A lot of shit has kinda been put in perspective now, if you know what I mean."

Troy glanced at his watch. "Bell's about to go. Should we head to drama?"

Chad nodded, and picked up the basketball for one last shot. He paused, aimed, and made a clean free throw.

"Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"I missed this too."

* * *

After the final bell of the day rang, Zeke and Jason had gone ahead to basketball practice to let the team and Coach Bolton know that Troy and Chad were getting Chad's test results. Gabriella and Taylor had tagged along. Miss Jacobs had told Chad to come to her classroom. Chad glanced at his friends before taking a deep breath and disappearing inside of the classroom.

Taylor began to pace backwards and forwards. "I'm so nervous."

"Me too."

"Me three."

"We couldn't have done anything more, I don't think. Short of taking the exam for him," Taylor pointed out.

"Eighty percent is a lot though. Given that he had thirty in the original test," Gabriella conceded quietly. "It hardly seems fair, given that there are special circumstances. What if he gets like seventy five or… you know… it's just a few marks off? Do you think the school will bend the rule?"

The three fell silent – a silence which was broken by the sound of a whoop and a holler from inside of the classroom. A moment later, the door burst open. Chad was standing there, bright smile, holding up a sheet of paper.

"Look! Look at it!" he said gleefully.

They rushed forward, each of them peering over to view the 83 percent that was circled in red.

"Oh my God!" Taylor gushed, immediately throwing her arms around Chad.

"Me too, me too!" Gabriella squealed, hugging Chad from behind.

When the girls finally let go of their grasp, Troy held his hand out to shake Chad's. "Told you it would work out," Troy said smugly.

Miss Jacobs appeared in the doorway, smiling at the sight of Chad and his celebrating friends.

"Chad?" she said tentatively.

Chad spun back around. "Is there a way that you can organise extra credit or something for these two? Not that either of them _need_ extra credit."

"Chad, I know you're happy but… you understand that this is really serious. Your grades are going to be monitored very closely. Your teachers are being asked to give fortnightly updates on your class progress, for all of your subjects."

Chad nodded. "I know, I get that."

"Do you? I mean really?"

"Yes!" Chad said vehemently. "I really do."

"Okay. Well your grade for this assessment piece is going to be recorded with two thirds of this grade and a third of the previous grade, so it's going down as 65 percent. That's not too bad, but you're going to have to be careful in this class to not let that slip back to a failing grade."

"I understand."

"All right then. Well congratulations, I'll see you in class tomorrow. And you'd better take that to training with you and show Coach Bolton."

Chad smiled broadly. "Yes ma'am."

Miss Jacobs disappeared back inside of her classroom and closed the door behind her.

"So, who is going to tutor me for my chem test the week after Thanksgiving Break?" Chad said jokingly.

"Look at that, already trying to get more out of us," Taylor teased.

"Seriously though… thanks to both of you, so much. I just… thank you. I wish I could give something back, you know? Do you like, want to learn how to play basketball? Or how to change a tyre?"

"I already know how to change a tyre, thank you very much," Taylor informed him smugly.

Gabriella didn't speak, she just looked at Chad contemplatively.

"What?" Chad asked dubiously. "Do I have something on my face?"

A playful smile curved upon Gabriella's lips. "You know, I happen to enjoy tutoring. I would have no problem with coaching you in the lead up to SATs and midterms. But time is money these days. And I think that I know how we could strike a deal so that you could repay me for my time."

Chad raised his eyebrows. "Umm…. Okay… and your deal is…"

"Driving lessons," Gabriella declared.

"Driving lessons," Chad repeated.

Gabriella nodded. "Driving lessons. Troy uses the fact that he has a truck as an excuse to not teach me…"

"It's not an excuse! You don't learn to drive in a truck!" Troy said, exasperatedly.

"And Taylor says the same thing about her Jeep, even though her Jeep is about a foot long," Gabriella continued.

Taylor bristled. "It is _taller_ than a regular car."

"But Chad, your car is of perfectly regular car size and so I am seeing no excuse whatsoever," Gabriella declared triumphantly.

Chad smiled. "How bad are you? Really? Because your mom seems to think you're dreadful, which she has told them, which is the real reason why they won't teach you."

"It is not!" Troy and Taylor protested simultaneously.

"Maybe if someone who drives very well, like yourself, was to _teach_ me then I might not be so terrible," Gabriella pointed out, sugar coating her point with a compliment.

"You know what? I'll think about it. We have training now, but I will think about it, and get back to you," Chad said thoughtfully.

Gabriella sighed. "You're just fobbing me off, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not!" Chad said firmly. "I will probably agree. At a minimum, I guarantee that I will take you for a drive in the parking lot at the mall after the mall is closed. Deal?"

Gabriella seemed satisfied with his response for now – and satisfied that she could talk him around if he did come back with a no. "Okay. Now you guys get to training."

Taylor and Gabriella both gave Chad another congratulatory hug, before Gabriella turned to Troy to kiss him softly.

"See you at rehearsal."

"You sure you're right to get there?"

Gabriella nodded. "Ryan is picking me up from my tutoring lesson."

And with that, the boys and the girls parted, Troy and Chad heading in the direction of the gym, falling into a comfortable banter.

"Do you have a deathwish?" Troy hissed.

"Surely she can't be _that_ bad!"

* * *

Gabriella and Taylor watched after the guys as they walked away, talking jovially along the way.

"It's like a long lost reunion," Gabriella said softly.

Taylor nodded. "See, things really do have a way of working out if they're meant to work out."

"Hmm. So they do."

* * *


	50. Chapter 49

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make no money from it. Really.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I cannot believe I updated the last chapter while I was THAT tipsy. Ahem. Kudos to Nel who I loooove for previewing this chapter for me.

**

* * *

****Chapter 49**

"I can't believe there are only two rehearsals left," Troy said with a yawn. "It feels like yesterday that me and the twit were facing off to get the part. And now there are just two more rehearsals, tomorrow and Thursday… and that's it."

Gabriella shooed Troy to move. He was sitting on the table in her dressing room, his feet resting on the chair. The Lava Springs stage wasn't a real stage, so Gabriella's dressing room was actually in the conference building which was adjacent to the back of the stage. There were plans to set up a marquee style of 'hallway' running between the conference block entrance and the side backstage door. He jumped up and moved over to sit in the chair in the corner. She was tidying her belongings, setting up the room in a layout that was perfectly to her taste, ready to go for the next dress rehearsal.

"I'm so glad that my mom seems okay with me going to Sharpay and Ryan's on Saturday night. After all this it'll be really fun to just chill with everyone. I'm glad it's not a party party, you know? I know you might want it to be but I'm glad they are so adamant upon it remaining as a 'gathering.'"

"I don't mind, as long as you're there," Troy said flirtatiously. He then cleared his throat, turning serious. "Were we um… talk about… you know? What we said we were going to talk about on Saturday? With the… diary and the picking of the date?"

"We are. Sooner or later. But… maybe… maybe we need to put it back," Gabriella said hesitantly. "Just a day or so. Maybe. I guess… We just see. I wouldn't want to force ourselves to sit down and talk about it if we're just totally wanting to relax and chill, you know?"

Troy nodded in agreement, he'd been thinking it but didn't want to have to directly say it, so he was grateful they were on the exact same page. "Good. I agree."

Gabriella gave him a small smile before turning back to finish arranging the table. "Okay, I think this is done. Script is tacked up, notes organised, my costumes laid out chronologically, make up set up…"

Two arms snaked around Gabriella's waist, a hand swept her hair to one side, and a set of lips pressed down onto her neck.

"I love you," Troy murmured throatily by her ear.

"You're saying that because we're alone in a semi sound proofed room with a lockable door," Gabriella remarked.

"Actually, I was saying it because it's true, I do love you. But that is a very valid observation that you've made. I particularly like the semi sound proofed part."

Before Gabriella could even respond, Troy latched his lips on her neck, just below her ear, and proceeded to suckle slightly. His hands rose up her taut stomach, and fell upon her breasts to lightly squeeze. She moaned slightly, instinctively tipping her head to provide him with easier access. It took a few moments for logical Gabriella to kick into gear.

"Troy… you can't… leave marks…" Gabriella gasped. "The show…"

"Cover it with make up," came Troy's simple reply.

"And my mom…"

Troy quickly removed his lips – the wrath of Gabriella's mom was now a very real fear – however he didn't desist from caressing her breasts.

"Okay no hickeys, I can deal with that," he murmured.

"Won't they be coming to lock up soon?" Gabriella asked, drawing in a sharp breath.

One of Troy's hands travelled back down from her breast, his thumb hooking onto the waistband of her jeans.

"The door to this room is locked. Besides, Ryan's not gonna let us get locked in here permanently. We have cell phones even if we did…"

Troy's list of reasons was sounding awfully appealing to Gabriella. So appealing that she didn't protest as Troy's fingers nimbly undid the button on the front of her jeans, that she allowed him to pull down her fly, that his hand slid beneath the denim and deftly danced over the material of her panties. Gabriella leaned back a little, allowing her body to mould to Troy's. She could feel the bulge of his crotch pressing against her behind. Troy's hand carefully and purposefully jiggled beneath her jeans and pushed the material of her panties aside to slide his fingers among her slippery folds.

"Ohh… Troy…" Gabriella moaned.

"You know you want this baby," Troy murmured.

Gabriella slowly turned around, and Troy's lips immediately dropped to meet with hers in a hungry kiss. At the precise moment when his tongue plunged into her mouth; his toying fingers nimbly slipped inside her wet cavern. His access was restricted by the not so stretchy denim of her jeans. His other hand dropped down to her middle to pry at the waistband, pulling the restricting material down her slim hips. Just as Gabriella's own hand reached out to seize the fly of Troy's khaki trousers, the worst sound possible was heard from just outside the door.

Knocking.

Their kiss immediately broke apart. Troy's thrusting fingers froze, still within inside her depths but desisting from any type of movement. Similarly, Gabriella's thumb which was hooked beneath the waistband of Troy's trousers paused.

"Whatever the hell you guys are doing in there, you have to stop right now," Ryan's impatient voice called through the door. "They're locking up in about two minutes. Seriously."

"We're just talking… we'll be out in a minute," Gabriella called back, her voice strained.

"Yeah right, whatever," Ryan's sceptical voice called back. "I'll see you outside."

Troy let out a strangled sigh and retracted his hand slowly. "Fuck," he muttered.

"Okay," Gabriella called back, and quickly reaching down to pull up her jeans. She glanced at Troy just as he was coyly sucking on the tip of his index finger.

"Let's go for a drive," Troy suggested imploringly.

"Troy, I need to go home. I have study to do," Gabriella protested, as she grabbed her bag and jacket.

"But I…"

"But, you're horny?" Gabriella said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, that's a given. When am I not horny?" Troy pointed out with a smirk. "But… I miss you. I miss… this."

"Do you remember my mom practically threatening you last week?" Gabriella reminded him.

Troy's eyes clouded over. "Yes. Not something I will forget any time soon."

"Well, there is yet another reason why I have to get home. Come on, we don't want to get locked in here."

Gabriella unlocked the dressing room door and opened it. Troy sulkily followed her out, switching the light off behind them.

"Is this… anything to do with last week? With… you know… our fight?" Troy asked hesitantly.

Gabriella halted in her stride, and stared at Troy for a moment. "No!" she exclaimed. "Not in the slightest! I really do have a lot of stuff to do, and I really did promise my mom that I wouldn't be late. And I really am worried that if I am late then she's going to freak out."

Troy softened. "Okay," he relented. "Guess I'll just have to go home and have a cold shower."

"You're not going to training tomorrow after the field trip, are you?" Gabriella asked. "You're letting Chad run it and coming straight to rehearsal?"

Troy nodded. "That's right."

"Well… we're meant to get back to school at about 5… and we don't actually have to be here til 6. So… why don't we just arrive a little early. The dressing room with the lock and semi sound proofing will still be here then."

Gabriella was smiling coyly, her eyes dancing a little as she stared at Troy with her imploring gaze.

"I love the way you think," Troy murmured. He stepped forward and leaned forward, allowing their lips to meet in a soft kiss.

The side door to the backstage area swung open, with the impatient Ryan appearing.

"Guys! Now!" he said insistently, rolling his eyes. "They need to lock up."

Gabriella and Troy smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," Gabriella said in a small voice, and followed Ryan outside.

"I swear, we're going to have to get a crew member to have their sole job to be to keep the two of you apart," Ryan commented, rolling his eyes. He glanced back at them. "Troy, do up your fly."

"When did you do that?" Troy exclaimed, glancing at Gabriella accusingly.

She smirked. "Good to know that you were so distracted that you didn't even notice."

"Oh God, I don't want to hear this," Ryan said, wincing. "I am going home. I'll see you guys tomorrow. And there are security cameras in the parking lot so don't even think about getting into the backseat of the truck."

"What about around the side of the building, I could move the truck around there," Troy suggested.

Gabriella hit him on the arm. "We've already discussed this!"

"I know, I know, just kidding."

* * *

Field trips had always been a highlight within the scholastic calendar. Even when they were relatively boring in nature, they were exciting. In freshman year, a boring trip to the natural history museum had resulted in an exciting game of hide and seek with half of the class. Sophomore year had included an art class trip into the main street of town leaving students to draw inanimate objects – and Troy and Chad had gone to the cinema and drawn a box of popcorn. Junior year featured a field trip to the botanical gardens, and Troy and his girlfriend at the time had gotten themselves 'lost' from the group and made out in the bushes.

And now here they were, senior year, drama class field trip to Santa Fe to see a matinee Shakespearian show.

Students from junior and senior drama classes were invited to attend – and encouraged that attendance would be highly beneficial toward gaining a whole understanding of coursework. Regular classes would be attended for the first three periods of the day, with students then to meet the bus out the front of the school. They weren't due back in Albuquerque til about 5pm. Hence that basketball practice had been shifted back to run from 5 – 6:30, and the second last rehearsal of _Once Upon A Time_ to take place from 6pm, of course at Lava Springs. The result was that Troy was not attending basketball practice for the first time since he'd missed a practice in the lead up to _Twinkle Towne_ auditions.

After third period Physics class, Gabriella needed to stop by and see Mr. Davis briefly. She insisted that Troy, Taylor and Martha go ahead to the bus and save her a seat. Troy reluctantly parted ways.

When Gabriella reached the front of the school, she could see that students were in the process of boarding, with about half the bus filled up. She held out her parental permission slip for Ms. Darbus to approve and stepped onto the bus.

"Gabriella!" Ryan called out.

Gabriella looked up and spotted where 'the crew' had staked a location. They were all towards the back, already in place with Troy and Ryan sitting together across from Chad and Zeke; and then behind there was Kelsi with Jason; and Martha and Taylor.

"Oh great. You all ditched me," Gabriella remarked, observing the pairings.

"We saved you a seat here," Ryan said brightly, patting to the pair of seats in front of him and Troy.

Gabriella rolled her eyes but sat down nevertheless.

"Did you get whatever it was you had to get from Mr. Davis?" Troy asked, leaning over the back of the seat to talk to her.

Gabriella swivelled around to sit with her back against the window, so she could talk to the boys. "He wasn't there. He said he should have the results from that math competition thing he coerced me into entering, they were being sent through to him this morning."

"Oh, wasn't he there?" Taylor asked from across the walkway, overhearing Gabriella's comment. She was disappointed, given she too had entered the contest and wanted the results. Gabriella on the other hand didn't mind so much, Mr. Davis had pretty much insisted that she come by to get the results. If it had been up to her and her alone, she would have avoided going to see him.

Gabriella shook her head. "I guess we can try to find him before class tomorrow, he won't be there by the time we get back to school this afternoon."

"Students, we will have a completely full bus today, so we need to ensure that every seat is taken!" Ms. Darbus called from the front.

Gabriella sighed, and shifted her bag so that it was on her lap rather than on the seat beside her.

"Why, is this seat taken?"

Gabriella had been looking down, but it was a voice that was unfortunately rather distinctively recognisable. She cleared her throat and looked up to see Theodore's beaming face.

Gabriella froze. "Umm…"

"Move, you twit!" Sharpay snapped, physically pushed past Theodore and sat down in the empty chair.

Theodore was perturbed by Sharpay's behaviour, but was oblivious to the relief on Gabriella's face. "That's okay, I'll just go sit up the front then."

"Yeah, you do that," Sharpay said, waving him away.

Gabriella glanced back at Troy and Ryan briefly, who both looked equally bewildered.

"Umm…. Thanks," Gabriella said awkwardly. "That so would have been the longest hour of my life."

"I didn't do it for you. I either had to sit with you, or that smelly kid up the front," Sharpay informed her.

Gabriella forced a smile. "I see."

"And don't think we're gonna sit here and like, talk." Sharpay pulled out her Ipod and began to press buttons.

"Hey Sharpay?" Gabriella said hesitantly. "Do you wanna run through our scene from the second Act? I felt like I was falling flat at rehearsal last night and I could really use the practice. You've just totally nailed it."

"Of course I nailed it," Sharpay preened, before agreeing. "And you were a little flat. So yes, I will help you."

Gabriella smiled broadly. "Awesome."

* * *

"Oh my God the show is tomorrow!" Kelsi squealed, bouncing up and down. "_Tomorrow_. It feels like yesterday that the auditorium was burnt down and they cancelled the auditions. And now, the show is tomorrow!"

"Are you going to be like this all day?" Chad asked, raising his eyebrows.

"She will be even more hyper tomorrow. Do you remember what she was like the day of _Twinkle Towne_ last year?" Jason remarked teasingly.

"It's all well and good for you, you just sit there and play the piano," Gabriella said, the nerves in her tone shining through.

"Oh God, are the pair of you going to get nervous again?" Ryan said, rolling his eyes as he glanced from Gabriella to Troy.

"Aren't you nervous?" Troy asked incredulously. "Just last night, rehearsal was a disaster."

Ryan shook his head. "No. Not at all. I love performing. Just give me a microphone and a pair of tap shoes and I'll perform every night of the week, if you want. And it wasn't that bad, and like I've said before, it's good to get the bad things out of the road in rehearsals."

"That or it's a bad omen," Gabriella said glumly.

"I'm sure you will be fantastic," Taylor said, giving her friend a small hug.

"There's that teacher you girls wanted to see yesterday," Chad commented, gesturing over towards the staff parking lot.

"Ooh!" Taylor squealed, and grabbed Gabriella. "Come on!"

"What's that all about?" Jason asked.

"Do you remember when they had that math competition thing? They are meant to have the results back," Troy explained.

"What, they need like, affirmation that they are super smart?" Zeke remarked, rolling his eyes.

Troy was watching over as Mr Davis was rifling through his papers after being accosted by Taylor, with the less excited Gabriella tagging along.

"Gabriella never wanted to do the test to begin with," Martha pointed out.

"I still don't really get why. We all know she is smart, who cares?" Chad said. "If I was as smart as her, I'd be flashing it about everywhere and trying to get stuff from it. If you have a gift, you make the most of it."

Taylor's high pitched screech was heard throughout the front area of the school. The crew all stared over to see Taylor hugging a somewhat bewildered Gabriella. A few words from Mr Davis later and he headed away into the building, leaving Taylor to drag Gabriella back over to the group.

"Look! Look at this!" Taylor said excitedly, thrusting a sheet of paper out.

"Yes look at this, look at how well Taylor did," Gabriella said in a hurry. "She got in the top five percent in the country!"

"That's so awesome, Tay," Chad said, his sentiment genuine.

Taylor scoffed. "Not really, when you work it out, there were like two hundred thousand people who entered so that is not that great. What is great is…"

"Taylor…" Gabriella protested.

"You told everyone how I did so now I have the right to announce your score."

"Come on Gab, just how brilliant are you?" Chad asked.

"She got the top in New Mexico!" Taylor said excitedly. "And in the top 50 in the country!"

A smattering of 'oh my God' and 'that's awesome!' and 'congratulations' and 'wow' came from her friends, while Gabriella was simply hugging herself in embarrassment, staring down at the base of the fountain.

"It's really not a big deal," Gabriella said. "It's just a stupid multiple choice test."

"Don't forget you have to pay Mr David back his entry fee with your prize money," Taylor teased.

"You got prize money? How much?" Chad asked.

"Umm, I think five hundred dollars," Gabriella said uncomfortably.

"That is so amazing! I don't know why you're being all embarrassed about it!" Kelsi said.

"It's really not a big deal," Gabriella said, once again.

"Gabriella, you shouldn't be ashamed of being intelligent," Troy said softly, lacing his fingers through hers.

"Oh, I'm not," she said truthfully. "I just… there's no need to make a fuss. I don't really find this stuff difficult. It's just like how… how Kelsi looks at a sheet of music and it makes sense, or Troy holds a basketball and it just seems to magically fly out of his hands and into the hoop. I just look at the math and it makes sense."

"Which is why you should be proud! That test was sooooo hard, I didn't even finish it!" Taylor pointed out. "And here you are, you got 99 out of a 100. You should be proud of that."

"There are two people that got 100 out of 100," Gabriella pointed out. "See here, contestant number 3074 and number 19481; from Massachusetts and Utah respectively."

"So if two people got 100 and you got 99 then technically, you came equal third with the other people who got 99?" Ryan said. "And you're what, upset that you missed one question?"

"Maybe. A little," Gabriella admitted.

Troy put his arm around her, and pressed his lips to her temple. "You're so cute."

"I still think you did so well Taylor, you said you didn't even finish it and you got 93 out of 100," Gabriella said, very genuinely impressed. "And those last fifteen questions were college level math."

"I must have fluked some of my guesses," Taylor said modestly.

"What, if in doubt, pick C for Chad?" Chad said brightly.

"Do you do C? I do B," Troy said.

"B for Bolton?" Chad asked.

"No, B for basketball," Troy said with a grin.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "How the pair of you actually got decent scores in the ACTs last year I will never know. Two of the answers will always be obviously wrong. And then you count up how many of each you already have answers for and even it out because typically, there will be an even amount of A, B, C and D answers."

Chad stared at her blankly, eyes glazing over. "Sure. Great tip. So Gabriella, you taking all your friends out when you get your cheque?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "It's meant to be put towards higher education. That's the spirit of the prize money."

"Yes, and she'll need it when she has to go across the country for college," Taylor pointed out.

"Taylor…" Gabriella said warningly, her eyes flickering toward Troy.

"Across country…" Troy said slowly.

"Either way. North, east or west. Who knows," Gabriella said, a forceful edge to her tone.

"Have you guys still not talked about this shit?" Chad remarked. "Wow."

Troy cleared his throat. "We should get into homeroom, the bell is gonna ring in a minute."

"Ahh avoidance. Excellent," Chad mused.

Taylor elbowed Chad. "Shut up."

* * *

It was Thursday afternoon. There were approximately 27 hours until game time. The Wildcats were in the East High locker room, gathered for a final post practice pep talk. Jack Bolton had finished his inspirational, guiding speech as team coach. He then turned to the team captain.

"Any final words?"

The captain of the Wildcats nodded, and stood up, pacing backwards and forwards in front of his team.

"It's crunch time. Playoffs are just a few weeks away. We've lost one game so far – we cannot afford to lose another game, or we're going to lose home ground advantages."

He paused in the centre of the room, and stood still, staring down at his team who were seated in front of him.

"It's time to stand up. It's time to go out there and leave our mark. It's time to show what we're all about."

From his place sitting on the locker room bench, Troy looked up at Chad in admiration. Admiration at the conviction in his tone. Admiration at his command. Admiration at his ability to motivate. Troy felt a sudden resurgence of motivation within his own approach to the game. He was transfixed by Chad's words, feeling a sudden desperate need to be out there on the court himself.

"We know that we're the best team. It's time to prove it. Every single person here has been selected for this team for a specific purpose. Every single person in this team has a role to play. It's time to prove that this team, this _whole_ team, have what it takes to win. To win not only tomorrow night – but the game after that, and the game after that, and the game after that."

Chad paused and took a breath.

"What team?!"

"WILDCATS!"

"What team?!"

"WILDCATS!"

"What team?!"

"WILDCATS!"

"Wildcats!"

"GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!"

* * *

"That was it. The final rehearsal," Gabriella said with an exhausted sigh, flopping back onto Troy's bed.

"It went well. Somehow, it's all come together," Troy said, in semi amazement. "It didn't matter how many times Ryan assured me that it would come together, a part of me was just really anticipating that tomorrow night would come and I would all forgetting lines and not knowing dances and scenery would be falling on me."

"They would have fired you and gotten Theodore to step back into your role before they would allow that to happen," Gabriella pointed out.

Troy sat down on his bed beside Gabriella, collapsing back onto the pillows beside her. "Very true."

"Are you glad that you'll get to concentrate on basketball from now on?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded enthusiastically. "At practice this afternoon…I just felt this sudden desperate need to be competing. I haven't felt that… in a while. I enjoy it, don't get me wrong. But… on this almost primal level… I felt it. I felt something I haven't felt this season." He smiled whimsically. "Ironic that I get that rush right when I won't be playing a game for almost two weeks, between not playing tomorrow and then the week off."

"Guess you just have to work out what it was that allowed that rush to come back, and maintain that," Gabriella pointed out.

"I'm itching to play right now. It's not good. Not when I need to finish my essay tonight."

"How much did you get done this afternoon?" Gabriella asked.

"Hmm, a good amount, but not enough given that I gave up our afternoon together for the purpose of studying," Troy grumbled.

"Then why don't you go play until dinner is ready, then we'll hit the books after dinner?" Gabriella suggested. "If you get into your essay now you'll just get into your rhythm when your mom will come up to tell us to come down."

"True," Troy mused. "I can't believe you're actually encouraging that I go shoot hoops."

"You'd better go on before I change my mind and think you should stay and study," Gabriella teased. "I'll just chill here with this, if that's okay," she said motioning to her textbook.

"You don't want to come watch me run around with my shirt off?" Troy teased.

"Hmm, as tempting as it is, I want to be able to concentrate while we study too," Gabriella pointed out with a coy smile. "Besides, I don't think your mom watching me ogle you is a great idea."

Troy laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Have fun with your…" he peered over and examined the book. "Scary math. Why do you even need to study more scary math? You proved with that test that you know like everything there is to know."

"Shut up. Go play," Gabriella said, pushing him away playfully.

* * *

Chad was sitting on his bed, staring at his cell phone which he was clutching onto. It was interesting how some actions could become so completely second nature, and yet that could be ripped away so easily.

It had been February – almost ten months ago – when Chad had found himself drawn towards a particular number he had stored within his address book. They'd been in the midst of planning the musical audition intervention when he'd said so casually, _give me your number so I can call you if I need to confirm any of the details_. Not the most romantic or proud of moments in Chad's life to obtain her phone number. He found himself calling her randomly for homework help – and soon after, calling her randomly, just for a chat. Random became routine.

Until it all fell apart.

And here he was, having navigated through the menu of his phone to bring up her number, with his thumb hovering above the 'call' button. He took a deep breath, and pressed his finger down.

Taylor had a number of very specific habits. For example, when she gave someone a birthday present, it was absolutely essential that the envelope, the wrapping paper and the ribbon matched. It didn't matter if all the recipient was going to do was discard the envelope and rip the paper off haphazardly. She also was not capable of leaving her room if there was an empty glass or plate in the room. They had to be returned to the kitchen. Once she had left the house and realised she had forgotten to take a glass back, and called her mom – who was fortunately at home – to let her know that there was a glass on her nightstand.

Her cell phone habit was in relation to her answering speed. She had to answer after the second ring and before the sixth ring.

Three rings down and Chad was beginning to worry. Four rings down and he was convinced she wasn't going to answer. Halfway through the fifth ring, she picked up with a wary, "Hello?" She'd seen his number on the screen, it was just a peculiar sight. They weren't quite back on random calling terms yet.

"Thought you weren't going to answer then," Chad remarked.

"Yeah I nearly missed it, I'm at my desk and my phone was in the nightstand," she said.

"Oh, are you busy? Studying?"

"Umm… I'm doing stuff but none of it is crucial. Just working on some assignments due back after Thanksgiving break."

"So umm… I was just calling to ask if you were going to go to this thing at Ryan's on Saturday night after the show," Chad said. He was gripping onto the phone a little tighter than necessary. He could have talked to her about the party the following day at school. But he wanted to call her, and it no longer seemed natural to be able to just call for no reason. And so, he had carefully manufactured his casual tone and reason for calling.

"Umm yeah… I thought I might drop by. It might be fun, just to hang with everyone. We haven't really done that in a while," Taylor responded.

"Cool, great, awesome. I was thinking about asking the 'non-musical' crowd if everyone wanted to go grab some pizza before the show. I was looking at the price list of the refreshments. You know they want to charge like two bucks for a can of soda?"

Taylor laughed. "Well, they are fundraising to purchase equipment and stuff for the performing arts program," she pointed out.

"TWO BUCKS for a soda?"

"Yeah, that is a bit steep. Pizza sounds like a plan," Taylor agreed.

"Cool. Well I'll talk to JC and Zeke about it tomorrow and see what they think, and I was going to ask Paula if she wanted to come with us also. That way you can have a girl to talk to," Chad said teasingly.

"Like I care about that," Taylor scoffed.

* * *

After completing the set goals they had designated within their homework assignments, Troy and Gabriella had moved on to conduct their own final musical rehearsal. They had closed and locked the door with the genuine intent of rehearsing a dance and not wanting to sound of the music to flow through and disturb Troy's parents. And they'd locked the door because both were rather shy about having an audience – ironic with opening night less than twenty four hours away.

The cramped amount of space had led to Gabriella tripping over Troy's desk chair – which had led to her stumbling and collapsing onto his bed in a fit of giggles.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked, the concern filling his face. He immediately moved over to his bed to sit beside her.

"I'm fine, I'm just a klutz," Gabriella said, still laughing. "And my foot hurts a little where I tripped, and then I banged my knee into the bed frame. But I'm sure I'll live."

"Your left knee?" Troy asked breathily, leaning down.

Gabriella giggled as Troy leaned over and pressed his lips on her denim clad knee.

"Is that better?" Troy murmured.

"Mmm… a little. I think I banged my lip also," Gabriella said teasingly.

Troy smiled coyly and leaned forward to kiss her softly. "It feels like a million years ago that we were at Ryan's playing Twister and I kicked you in the shin," Troy commented, hovering just shy of her lips. He dipped down, nipping slightly at her neck.

"It really does," Gabriella agreed, and took in a sharp breath at the sensation of his lips and teeth playfully teasing her skin. "We've come a long way."

"In a good way?" Troy queried, lifting his head and allowing his gaze to meet hers.

No words were required in response, rather Gabriella reached out with her right hand, and gently pulled his head down to meet her lips in a kiss. Fingers toying with the hair at the nape of his neck, her other hand splayed over his shoulder blade. Lips and tongue performing a kiss which, despite its familiarity, would never become boring. Troy's teasing hands would never grow tired of the touch of the warmth of her skin; of her firm, taut stomach; of the swell of her breasts and her hard nipples between his toying fingertips.

Gabriella tore away from his kiss. "Troy…"

"Mmm?" He trailed his tongue along her jaw line and down her neck, evoking a gasp

"I think… I think we should stop… since your parents are…"

Troy groaned. "I don't care."

"I do," Gabriella reminded him. "At least we had some time in my dressing room yesterday."

"So if we could just repeat that like, every day…" Troy mused, shifting his weight to move away from her.

"Yes, things have come a long way… to a world where you actually expect daily blow jobs," Gabriella teased.

"No," Troy said seriously. "That's not what it's about. It's about… it's about the fact that I crave you, I crave touching you and feeling you and tasting you."

Gabriella's eyes hazed over a little as he spoke, Troy smiling coyly at the visible sight of her reaction.

"This thing at Sharpay and Ryan's… maybe we can… escape into the labyrinth of the Evans' mansion," Gabriella suggested hopefully.

Troy smiled a knowing smile. "Definitely."

* * *

Chad was pacing backwards and forwards in the away locker room at their host school. Just the previous afternoon, he'd been filled with motivation. Now, half an hour before game time, and he was feeling nervous as hell.

"Who has the playbook?" Chad suddenly asked.

The assistant coach looked up from where he and Coach Bolton were quickly going over something. "We do."

Jack stepped over to where Chad was wringing his hands nervously. "Chad… I know you're nervous but… we're ready for this. Everything you said yesterday was absolutely correct. This whole team is ready to step up. We could not be more prepared."

"Yeah but without all the points…"

"I've learnt in my years in this sport that there is no point in thinking about what you don't have. You have to concentrate on what you do have," Jack advised. "I believe in you. But that's not enough. Do you believe in you?"

Chad took a deep breath. "Yes. I do."

Jack grinned broadly. "Then that's all you need."

"Yo, is everyone dressed in here?" Zeke called out.

"Why?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows.

Zeke stepped aside, and appearing in the doorway was a little girl on crutches.

"Jayme!" Chad exclaimed.

"Hey big bro," Jayme said cheerfully. "Just saying hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to come watch and Taylor brought me."

Chad poked his head out of the locker room into the hallway, where Taylor was standing watching. "Hey," she said sheepishly. "Sorry… she insisted on coming back here."

"No, it's cool," he said, flashing Taylor an appreciative smile, before turning back to Jayme. "Come to watch me win, huh?"

"Yes," Jayme agreed with a nod. "I'm also going to come to watch the show tomorrow night! Taylor organised a ticket for me and everything!"

"Oh goodie, my little sister hanging out with me," Chad said sarcastically.

Taylor glanced at her watch. "Come on Jayme, we should go to our seats. Chad has to finish getting ready."

"Good luck!" Jayme said brightly to Chad.

"Thanks kid," Chad said.

Jayme began to hobble away with Taylor walking along side her.

"Oh, and kick ass!" Jayme called behind her.

"Watch your language!" Chad called back.

"Kick backside!"

"Much better."

Chad turned around, re-entering the locker room.

"Well, you heard her. Let's do this," Jack Bolton said with a broad grin.

Chad nodded. "Game on."

* * *

The three female leads were the only cast members in the production to get their own private dressing room. It made logistical sense that they were given the rooms, given that they had the most complicated costume changes, with even a few wig changes for both Gabriella and Kelly, who was playing Lily. A medium sized room had been transformed into a dressing room for the three male leads; whilst mirrors, some tables and chairs had been thrown into each of two large backstage rooms and transformed into changing areas for the other male and female cast members.

It was a half hour until show time. Ryan was well versed in the application of his own stage make up, and was currently sitting in front of his mirror going through the familiar routine. Jenny, one of the crew members, was on the other side of the room helping James – who played Cameron – with his make up. Leaving Troy waiting for Jenny to come over and help him.

"I still don't get why so much of this shit is needed," Troy commented, going over to sit in a chair beside Ryan.

"Oh God, are you going to complain about it like you did last year?"

"No, I'm not complaining. I'm just questioning why it is needed. At the talent show here, you only put a tiny about of that powdered shit on me."

"The lighting was different. And no one else was wearing stage make up – well other than Sharpay – so everyone kinda looked equally washed out," Ryan attempted to explain.

"Hmm. I guess."

"Feel glad it's not Shakespeare, then you'd be wearing tights and stuff also."

Troy shuddered. "Good silver lining there."

Ryan smirked, and glanced up checking that Jenny and James were still preoccupied. "Umm… I have the key if you want it now," Ryan said quietly. "Just in case I don't get the chance to give it to you tomorrow."

"Oh! Excellent, thanks," Troy responded lowly.

"Just go in my jacket pocket over there and grab my keys," Ryan said, motioning.

Troy followed the instructions and abstracted the requisite key from the ring. "Awesome. And thanks again man."

"No worries. Just… you heard me… if you hurt…"

"Dude. I got it," Troy said firmly.

Ryan nodded briskly. "Right then."

"All right Troy, let's see if we can make you less shiny," Jenny said cheerfully. "It wasn't quite right at last night's rehearsal, so I'm thinking we go back to the colouring from Wednesday's rehearsal."

Troy looked at her blankly. "Whichever one washes off easiest."

She laughed.

"I think Wednesday's was better too," Ryan agreed. "Anyway, I'll be in Sharpay's dressing room if you need me."

* * *

It was ritual that right before a show, Ryan would come by Sharpay's dressing room for the two to engage in their pre-performance vocal and mental warm up. As Sharpay had finished the final touches on her make-up, she was anticipating Ryan's arrival any moment. Perfectly on cue, he appeared as she expected.

"You didn't blend this very well," she admonished, and reached up with a make up pad to fix the make up leading to Ryan's hairline.

"I was distracted. It's hard preparing when you've got other people fluttering around," Ryan complained.

"You're the one who gave up your dressing room, Gabriella and Kelly could have shared," Sharpay said.

"Did you see them at the first dress rehearsal? They were moving around like sardines in a can, missing half their cues."

"Oh, and giving Gabriella her own private dressing room has really helped with the missing of cues," Sharpay said sarcastically. "We should have broken the lock on the door."

Ryan laughed. "Maybe."

"Princess?" Vance Evans' voice called through.

"Daddy!"

Vance Evans poked his head into the area. "Too busy for a good luck hug from your old man, Princess?" he asked with a smile.

Sharpay beamed. "Never."

He stepped into the room, eyes examining his daughter with pride. "Stunning as usual. I am absolutely certain that you will blow everyone away, as per usual."

"But of course," Sharapy agreed, tossing her blonde curls back.

Vance turned to Ryan, and smoothed down his jacket. "Much better. Oh wait…" He then straightened Ryan's tie. "There we go, now you're good to go."

"Thanks dad," Ryan said, forcing a smile. "Is mom here?"

"Of course, front and centre. Now come here Princess," he said, holding out his arms. "I promise not to crease your pretty dress."

Sharpay hugged her father. "Thank you so much for letting us have the show here, daddy."

"Not a problem at all. Couldn't take away your chance to star in your last Fall production now, could we?"

* * *

Gabriella was sitting at her dressing table, applying one last coat of gloss upon her lips. She'd been given assistance with the base of her make up, left to do her own lipstick. It never ceased to amaze Gabriella when she would stare into the mirror and see this almost foreign reflection staring back at her. It was less than a year ago when she'd been protesting changing out of her comfy clothes and ugg boots to go to a party on New Years Eve, the one night of the year when celebration was almost mandatory. Now here she was, about to go on stage – again. Again to bare her soul for hundreds of people. She swallowed and closed her eyes, taking a series of deep breaths.

A knock at the door interrupted her.

"Gabriella?" Troy's voice called through the door.

"Come in," Gabriella called.

Troy swung the door open, his right hand behind his back. Gabriella glanced into the mirror to see him behind her. "Look at you, all made up," she teased.

"Shut up," he warned. "I already feel like enough of a dick."

She laughed. "On stage it looks natural though. Just as long as you wash it off before you see the guys after the show tomorrow night." She spun around in the chair, and motioned to the arm that Troy was holding behind his back.

"What are you hiding?" she asked suspiciously, attempting to glance behind him.

Troy smiled sheepishly. "I bought you a present."

"A present! Why?" Gabriella asked.

"Just because."

Troy pulled out the item from behind his back. It was a silvery grey teddy bear of the 'Me To You' variety, wearing a white t-shirt with gold embroidered 'Good Luck' on the material.

"Awww!!" Gabriella exclaimed, taking the bear from him and hugging it to her chest. "It's adorable!"

She held it out in front of her, examining the bear lovingly.

"I figured you would get a collection of flowers at the end of the show so… I opted for the bear," Troy said, sounding a little embarrassed.

"I love it," she said softly, setting the bear down on her dressing table. "Thank you."

He stepped a little closer to her, taking her hands in his. "And so in the words of the bear… good luck. Or as Sharpay might say, break a leg."

"Good luck works fine for me," Gabriella teased, gazing up into his eyes. "I want to kiss you but we'll ruin our make up."

"How about a hug?" Troy suggested.

"A hug is good."

Standing on tip toe, Gabriella fell into the warmth of Troy's arms encasing around her. The two fit together perfectly, like two halves of a whole. Her head fell to his shoulder, and he nestled himself by the familiar cascade of dark curls. He took in a deep breath, anticipating the familiar smell of her fruity scented shampoo. Instead, he wrinkled up his nose.

"Your hair smells like hairspray."

Gabriella started laughing, vibrating against his body.

"That's because it's caked with the stuff."

A knock at the door pulled the couple apart. Ryan poked his head into the room.

"It's show time."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **One chapter and an epilogue (so two chapters) remain. These chapters are the most important things I have ever written in my life and I am about to embark upon my final stages of editing. The next update will most likely be in twenty four hours time. I'd love to hear your thoughts guys, please don't feel shy to drop me a line in a review or PM telling me what you think. :-) - Dani xo


	51. Chapter 50

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make no money from it. Really.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **This is the final chapter; there is an epilogue which follows. I would like to express multitudes of gratitude to Audrey for her amazingly crucial assistance with this chapter; and also to Nel for previewing for me. The flashback (in italics) is from my first HSM piece entitled _Here With You._

* * *

**Chapter 50**

A month and a half of rehearsals; a month and a half of blood, sweat and tears; had culminated in three shows over two days. And then 26 and a half hours after the curtain went up - the Lava Springs curtain fell for the final time for the East High School Fall Musicale. _Once Upon A Time_ - was officially an era of the past.

* * *

The audience rose to their feet in standing ovation. After the final curtain call, the lights brightened and the smatters of applause died down; and people began to congregate in groups and sing the praises of the performers.

"That show was so amazing!" Taylor exclaimed as she turned to her friends.

"Way better than that heap of shit on Wednesday," Chad agreed. He glanced down at Jayme who was glaring at him accusingly.

"I meant… crap… not… the other word," he corrected himself, glaring at her.

"I know I might be biased, but Sharpay was really good, wasn't she?" Zeke commented. He had tried to keep his tone casual but there was no doubting the starry eyed-ness of his remark.

"She was," Paula said truthfully. "They all were amazing. Every single one of them."

"Kelsi did such an amazing job writing that. It was so intricate and yet also just so beautifully simple. The contrasts between the characters were so poignant," Taylor said in awe.

"Uh huh," Jason said proudly, clearly not understanding the depth of Taylor's statement other than that it was singing his girlfriends praises. He then added hopefully, "Do you think we can go back and see everyone?"

Chad glanced toward where a few parents were already seen bee lining toward the stairs at the side of the stage. "If they can go back there, I say we can," he declared. "Given its our friends who are like the stars."

"I wanna see Troy!" Jayme declared. "He hasn't signed my cast yet."

"Let's go and try to find him then, hey?" Taylor said with a smile. "Gabriella said that they had dressing rooms over in that conference room area and they do some mad dash around to the back of the stage. Let's go check it out."

Jason was the first of the group to dash up the stairs, tearing away from them all. It didn't take long to find Kelsi – she was only just beyond the wings, collecting together sheaths of sheet music and placing them into ordered piles. He knew that her parents and little brother had come to the show the previous night, so she'd done her big family congratulatory moment. He didn't care about the dance teacher who was talking to some students just feet away, he didn't care about their friends who were only just behind them. He approached her from behind and grabbed onto her waist. Kelsi let out a slight yelp and, being Kelsi, of course the pile of paperwork she was clutching onto scattered to the floor. Her reaction was slightly delayed, realising who the hands that had grabbed her belonged to.

"You scared the…"

She was cut off by a pair of lips crashing down into hers, as his hands held her firmly by the waist. Normally Kelsi would have protested such an unrestricted and public display, but rather she found her hands clutching behind him on his shoulder blades and pulling his body to press close to hers; as the strokes of her tongue equally matched his vigour. The wolf whistles from Chad were completely lost on either of the two. Finally, they pulled apart, Kelsi's bright and shining eyes gazed in awe up at the kind orbs which stared back.

"It was amazing. You are amazing," Jason said. The words sounded a little awkward from his mouth, however the sentiment was completely genuine.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zeke had also split off from his friends. Taylor and Chad had continued through along the marquee corridor to the conference area in search of Troy and Gabriella; however Zeke figured he could talk to either of them any time. Instead, he found himself striding with a purpose along the maze of dressing areas in the immediate vicinity of the stage. Finally, he found a pink star with _Miss Sharpay Evans_ in a metallic gold cursive script, stuck to the blue curtain. The curtain was pulled back a little, and he suavely peered inside, spotting Sharpay sitting in front of her vanity applying make up. He cleared his throat.

"Hi," he said, somewhat timidly. "Sorry to interrupt."

Sharpay turned around in her directors chair, spotting who was in the entry way.

"Umm… hello," she said, somewhat cautiously.

"I can see you're busy, but I just wanted to um… to tell you how much I enjoyed the show. You were… really fantastic. Really truly."

"Thanks," Sharpay said simply. "Are you coming to the party?"

Zeke nodded. "Yeah, I'll swing by."

"Good. Since you know, you're the only one who talks to me at parties."

Zeke almost fell over at the sound of Sharpay's attempt at a half sarcastic joke. He grinned broadly. "Something tells me that it'll be different tonight."

She shrugged. "We'll see."

"Anyway… I'll let you finish what you're doing. Although, I don't know why you've taken off your make up just to put on more make up. It's not like you need to wear any."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "You've never seen me not wearing make-up."

"That's not true, I have too."

"Oh yeah, when?" Sharpay countered.

"The day after the fire," Zeke pointed out.

Sharpay bristled. "Well. That… was a momentary lapse."

Zeke rolled his eyes good naturedly. "See you later."

Sharpay turned back to her mirror and picked up her lip gloss, ready to apply coat number five. Her hand was poised over her lips in the mirror, but she paused before staring at her reflection and decidedly popping the cap back onto the end of the gloss.

* * *

Taylor, Chad and Jayme finally located the row of make shift dressing rooms that had been transformed out of smaller break out rooms within the conference building adjacent to the stage area. They found the dressing room with Ryan, James and Troy on the door, with the room open. James was talking with his family, and Ryan was sorting through his costumes.

"Hey Ryan!" Taylor exclaimed.

Ryan spun around, smiling broadly at the sight of his friends. "Hey guys!"

"Awesome show man," Chad said, shaking Ryan's hand firmly.

"It was truly incredible," Taylor said sincerely, hugging Ryan.

"Thanks," Ryan said bashfully. "Did you like the show, Jayme?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "It was sooo cool!"

"You seen Bolton?" Chad asked. "Jayme wants to say h."

Ryan coughed. "Umm… I think he was… helping Gabriella with something," he said tactfully.

Chad and Taylor understood the inference. "They could be a while JJ, and mom wants you home in like fifteen minutes," Chad told his sister.

She pouted. "But I want him to sign my cast!"

"You've got the thing on for weeks, I'm sure he'll be able to sign it another time," Taylor said, attempting to peace make.

Another knock came at the open door. Elena Montez had politely knocked just to make her presence known and stepped inside.

"Hey Ms Montez!" Ryan said with a bright smile.

"Ryan honey, you were so wonderful," Elena gushed, giving him a hug. "Would you be able to point me in the direction of Gabriella's dressing room?"

Chad proceeded to have a coughing fit.

"Are you all right?" Elena asked, looking slightly concerned.

"Yes just… a frog in my throat," Chad said, emphasising the point with another cough.

"You know what, why don't I take you myself?" Ryan said, his brain working overtime. "Guys, I'll see you at my house, yeah?"

Chad nodded. "Yup. In about a half hour?"

"Perfect. See you then."

* * *

Congratulatory handshakes, hugs and kisses were taking place on the now regularly lit stage, throughout the backstage areas, both immediately near the stage and the short distance away in the conference area they'd overtaken – and, notably, in the dressing rooms.

Gabriella's script notes which had been tacked up against the dressing table mirror had been pulled down; her own personal make up items packed away; the items that belonged to someone else placed in a shoebox to return. Her costumes had been hung back into their plastic coverings, with the exception of her final costume which she was still dressed in. Her street clothes were laid out ready to be changed into.

And then a certain blue eyed boy had entered the room and closed the door behind him. Gabriella was now pressed up against the back wall, beside the organised dressing table. Her lips had been attacked, but it was a welcome attack, an attack she had been longing since the matinee show that afternoon. Their bodies were in absolute contact as they zealously kissed. Troy's tongue was tantalisingly stroking against hers; his hands buried within Gabriella's curls; with her own hands clutching to his muscular shoulders.

She pulled away from him, needing a moment to regain some level of composure.

"Do you know how hard it was to not kiss you like this in our stage kiss?" Troy murmured breathily.

His forehead leant down to rest upon hers, noses touching slightly. Gabriella's eyes fluttered open, staring into the blue orbs which shone so brightly before her.

Gabriella nodded. "Uh huh."

"You know, they say that dancing is foreplay which… we proved at Paula's party… but I think singing with you is on par," Troy murmured, biting his lip slightly.

"I think Nina had to demonstrate a large amount of self restraint to not jump Mike when he sang to her," Gabriella confessed slyly. "And I think she's glad that she and Mike are going to an after… gathering." She leaned forward ever so slightly, re-initiating a steamy kiss.

"Yes, I'm fairly certain Gabriella will be in her dressing room just here, Ms. Montez," Ryan's loud, forced tone was heard just outside the door, before he knocked a little louder than necessary.

Gabriella quickly pulled away from Troy and turned to face her costumes. Troy sat down at her dressing table and pretended to be at work styling his hair.

"Come in," Gabriella called.

"Here she is!" Ryan said cheerfully.

"Mom!" Gabriella exclaimed, beaming at her mother. "Did you like the show?"

"Like the show? I loved the show!" Elena gushed, embracing Gabriella with a warm hug and a kiss. "You are so amazing sweetheart."

Elena pulled away, a small tear in her eye as she looked at her daughter in admiration and pride. She then turned to Troy. "You also were truly fantastic Troy, I know you this isn't your thing but… I think you could make it your thing if you wanted to."

"Thanks Ms. Montez," Troy said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Are you still okay with me going to the Evans' for the cast party?" Gabriella said hopefully.

Elena nodded. "I had a chat with Mrs Evans, and it's fine. Were you going to come home first or go straight there?"

"Umm… I think I want to shower. I need to wash my hair, there's so much hairspray in it that my head feels itchy," Gabriella said decisively.

"Well you can come home with me now then, and if you were going to ride with Troy he can come pick you up."

Gabriella smiled. "Okay. I'm just going to get changed and go thank some of the teachers then I'll be out," she promised.

Both Elena and Ryan moved toward the doorway; however Troy was yet to stand from his place sitting at the dressing table. Elena folded her arms across her chest, glancing at him questioningly. It took Troy a moment longer to realise.

"Oh!" he suddenly exclaimed, dawning upon him that in the eyes of Elena Montez, he should _not_ remain behind while her daughter was changing. "Well, I'm going to go grab my stuff from my own dressing room and see my parents."

"Yes, you should go finish taking off your stage make up," Ryan said pointedly to Troy.

"I've already…" Troy noted that Ryan was scratching at his lips, giving Troy a pointed stare. "I've already started but I just came to congratulate Gabriella on a wonderful show," Troy finished with a charming smile. "Gabriella, just call me when you're ready, okay?"

* * *

Gabriella and her mother were walking arm in arm toward her mother's car when Gabriella spotted a familiar blonde stepping into her pink mustang.

"I'll just be a second mom, I promise," Gabriella said, motioning toward Sharpay.

Elena nodded, and allowed Gabriella to split off and dart over toward Sharpay.

"Sharpay!" Gabriella called as she dashed over, trying to catch up.

Sharpay turned around, looking at Gabriella. "Yes?" she said primly.

Gabriella slowed down as she closed the gap.

"I just wanted to say congratulations. You were really really amazing tonight. Not just tonight, but this afternoon, and last night."

Every word Gabriella spoke was completely genuine.

"Yes well, that's a given," Sharpay said, filled with self-importance. She then added, somewhat hesitantly, "But…. Thanks. You umm… you were good too. You picked up in that scene we practiced on Wednesday. You did very well." Sharpay couldn't resist but to add quickly, "For an amateur."

From Sharpay, it was a compliment, which Gabriella knew very well. She smiled appreciatively. "Well… I'm just going home now to get changed so… I'll see you at your place later on?"

Sharpay nodded. "Yes, you will."

* * *

An hour later and the celebrations had been moved to the Evans' mansion. The athletes and cheerleaders liked to pride themselves upon being the throwers of kick ass parties. Maybe the party in swing wasn't one which featured beer kegs or alcoholic punch – but it was certainly filled with spirit. Not only was it a celebration of the culmination of _Once Upon A Time_, but it was also a celebration that the following week was Thanksgiving. Monday and Tuesday, seniors had SAT prep and then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were sweet, glorious days off. Thanksgiving meant that Christmas was only just around the corner. Followed by New Years Eve. Nevertheless, drama club style celebrations weren't exactly typical of those you might find at a typical Wildcat party. The conversations were centred around drama club happenings, how the show had gone, silly backstage antics, plans for the next show.

Taylor was in the Evans' kitchen, pouring herself a glass of soda, when she sensed a familiar presence step up to stand behind her.

"Wow, I never thought I could ever feel _this _out of place at a social event," Chad remarked.

She laughed lightly, turning around to face him. "Tell me about it. Jason kinda fits in here because he studies media and half these kids are helping him with his film next week."

"That and he's dating Kelsi," Chad pointed out.

"That too. Even Zeke somehow seems to know them, how I'm not sure."

"Maybe drama types do his hospitality class."

"Maybe," Taylor agreed. "Either way, he seems to be making himself fit in, I suspect so that he's around Sharpay."

"So, looks like you and me are stuck with each other," Chad said. "Which… I dunno… I'm cool with. That is… if you are?"

Taylor smiled. "I think I can handle that."

* * *

Almost immediately upon arriving at the Evans' place, Troy had allowed Gabriella to go off and mingle. He had disappeared, putting his own plan for the evening into place. He reappeared into the house and scanned the area for her. Now that he'd spent a half hour of the party setting up, he was anxious to find her. She wasn't hanging around with the group on the deck, nor was she in the dining area. He popped into the kitchen next, consequently bumping into Taylor and Chad who were in the midst of a laughing fit.

"Have you guys seen Gabriella?" Troy asked urgently.

"Not recently," Chad said, his laughter dying down a little.

Troy sighed impatiently.

"I'm sure she's around," Taylor said. "Have you looked in the lounge room? I think they were plugging in SingStar."

"Which, you know, totally our thing," Chad said sarcastically.

"Mmm… okay I'll look in there," Troy said, a little distractedly.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asked.

Troy nodded. "Sure. I'll see you guys later."

Finally as he headed toward the front lounge room, his eyes fell upon her. His frenzy drifted away, his lips curved into a smile. Her mere presence under usual circumstances never failed to be a soothing force. As Taylor had suspected, SingStar was being set up and there was a bunch of people in the process of setting up teams for a round of Pass the Mic. And there she was, sitting on the lounge, her feet tucked beneath her, leaning forward as she listened intently to whatever that Kelly was talking about. She laughed out loud, her face filled with a bright, genuine smile. It was a smile that never failed to generate a mirrored smile upon Troy's face.

* * *

Troy approached from behind, and brushed his hand against her arm. Gabriella glanced up, smiling brightly.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Come with me?" Troy asked. "Or were you intent upon joining in with the SingStar?"

She shook her head, wrinkling her nose slightly to indicate to him that she hadn't been particularly enthusiastic about the idea at all. After spending the last week living and breathing the musical, the last thing she felt like doing was engaging in more public singing. She swung her legs around, slipped on her black ballet flats which were neatly sitting just by the couch, and took Troy's outstretched hand. Their fingers naturally entwined as he led her through the house to a side door. He wanted to bypass the people on the deck, so was taking a longer route.

"Where are we going?" Gabriella asked, curiosity piquing.

"I can't tell you," Troy said mysteriously. "In fact…"

He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a black scarf.

"You want to blindfold me? What on earth is going on?" Gabriella asked dubiously.

"Humour me, babe, and just go with it," Troy implored, throwing her a charismatic smile that he knew she struggled to resist.

"Okay," she said simply, succumbing to his charm.

Troy pressed his lips to hers softly before tying the blindfold around her face. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked, not holding his hand up at all.

"Two," Gabriella answered cheekily, even though she couldn't see a thing.

"You know, I was thinking two!" Troy exclaimed. He took her by her arm and carefully guided her through the side door and along the outside pathway.

"Okay you are… taking me to throw me in the pool," Gabriella guessed.

"Good guess, but no."

"Okay… maybe you're going to take me and tie me up to the fence around the tennis court and leave me out here."

"Yeah you wish I'd tie you up," Troy teased.

Gabriella giggled.

"Okay stop," Troy instructed. "Just a second."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key that Ryan had given him, unlocked the door to the building they'd reached, and then guided Gabriella to step inside. "Just one small step up… yup that's right…" he closed the door behind her. "Just wait there again, okay? I'll just be a minute."

Gabriella stood waiting patiently, her intrigue enough to allow her to not complain. There was intensity to Troy's tone that told her that waiting to see what it was all about was going to be worthwhile. She heard his footsteps nearing again, sensed that he had come closer, and then he took her by the elbow once more.

"Okay, this way," Troy instructed, and brought her forward just a few feet. He took a deep breath, and then brought his hands up to the back of the sash, untied the knot and allowed the material to cast aside.

She gasped, looking around the room in astonishment. The uncertainty as to exactly where they were was pushed aside as Gabriella was transfixed by the dozens of sporadically placed candles throughout the room; along the mantelpiece, on the coffee table in front of the sofa, along the kitchenette bench. Some of the candles were plain unscented tea light, others were vanilla scented and facilitated a subtle but inviting aroma to waft throughout the area. Gabriella spun around, and glanced out the window before putting the pieces of the puzzle together and realising where he had brought her.

"Are we in the guest house?" Gabriella asked curiously.

The Evans' lavish property featured a modestly sized guest house up the back end of the block. It wasn't too elaborate, but it featured all the essentials. A small kitchenette with the crucial supplies; a cosy living area decorated with dark timbers, a navy blue feature wall, and a plush, inviting cream coloured sofa; and just off the living room a bedroom/bathroom. The lighting was dim, the candles merely enhancing the pre-existing soothing atmosphere.

Troy nodded. "I um… I sorta… we have the place to ourselves tonight." Not only was he nervous about the whole situation, but he was nervous about just how the statement might have come across.

She turned to look at him a little sharply. "Umm… why?"

"That's up to you," Troy answered honestly. "There's the impending conversation that we said could take place tonight... which, if you ask me, we should just leave the lid on the box for one more night. There's just hanging and enjoying one another's company. I have strawberries and chocolate and cookie dough ice cream and diet soda. And if you want to, we can just hang out and talk and kiss and enjoy being together."

"Or?" Gabriella said softly, stepping a little closer to him.

Troy smiled, and brought his hand up to caress her chin. "I love you, Gabriella. I'm… I'm not being presumptuous. This might look like it," he said, sweeping his hand to gesture toward the candles. "But I'm really not. You told me that you would only know when put into the situation where… where us making love was realistic, when the environment and the circumstances would allow it to happen. We've agreed that we didn't want to sneak around at home, or be in a rush before a parent comes home. We could sit and wait for that perfect timing to arise but… it's just not gonna. Unless you want to go rent a motel room or something. So what I present to you here isn't pressure, it's not that I have any expectation. What I am offering is that we spend some quality time together. And just… see what happens."

Troy couldn't help but feel extremely nervous. He knew how it looked. Blindfolding and bringing his girlfriend of more than nine months to a secluded area filled with candles. But he meant every word that he said. He meant that there was no pressure, no expectation. And all he could hope was that she understood that.

Gabriella's arms lifted to adjoin behind Troy's neck, as she gazed up at him adoringly. "I can go with the see what happens."

Just as the earth rotates around the sun; just as the apple falls from the tree to hit the ground – the lips of Troy and Gabriella connected through a magnetic pull, movements soft and languorous. She gently guided him toward the sofa where they had more equal footing, the height difference no longer serving to be an impediment once nestled amongst the soft cushions.

The kiss was mixed, ranging from soft to hard, from probing to lightly dancing. Hands toyed playfully, teasingly; merely a preview of the touching and caressing that both knew was yet to come. There was no rush or frenzy behind any of their movements. In that moment there was Troy and there was Gabriella, with time bearing no meaning. There was no rush, no pressure, no need to fulfil a certain goal before the inevitable parent returned home or the next rehearsal began or training session had to be attended. The time was being taken to simply relish the moment, to take the time to explore every niche and every crevasse of each other's lips and tongue and mouth.

As Troy increased the pressure on the kiss, he leaned forward a little, guiding Gabriella to lie back against the decorative cushions lying up the end of the sofa. Shoes instinctively were slipped off without even breaking away from the kiss. It was Gabriella who made the first major move to remove a clothing item, starting with Troy's jacket being discarded and tossed aside. Her hands then fell to the hem of his t-shirt, lips separating only for the brief period of time it took for her to pull it over his head before furiously resuming the kiss. As Troy was poised with his weight hovering above Gabriella, his hands began to delicately work at the buttons of her cardigan. He pulled back as she lifted her weight, allowing him to shimmy the soft wool from her skin. He immediately seized the opportunity to remove her tank top, revealing a lacy black bra which provided very scant coverage.

The force of Troy's kiss caused Gabriella to collapse back against the soft cushions. She was enjoying the feel of Troy's warm skin beneath her hands, never failing to find a certain fascination with the contours of his developing abs, with his warm shoulder muscles, and with pretty much every inch of his body. Troy's own hands were wandering with the playful teasing kicking up a notch, as his hands sleekly ran up her taut stomach and cupped her breasts. He broke apart from the kiss and trailed his tongue down her neck in soft, sensual laps; he loved the taste of her warm skin beneath his tongue, he loved the sound of the little mewls which would escape from Gabriella's mouth as he nipped at her sweet spot.

Troy's hand came to rest on her shoulder, delicately tugging her bra strap down before pressing a soft kiss upon the skin where the strap had been. Gabriella took in a sharp breath, her right hand tracing a pattern from where it had been toying with his left nipple, down his abs, along his snail trail and hooked her thumb beneath the waistband of his jeans in preparation to undo his button.

"Gabriella?" Troy murmured, drawing in a sharp breath.

"Mmm?"

"Do you… do you want to go into the bedroom? It might be… more comfy?"

Gabriella nodded, and leaned up to press her lips to Troy's softly. He moved his weight off her, and stood up. He held out his hand to her which she took and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Without warning, suddenly felt Troy's arms scooping her up.

"Troy!" she giggled, hitting his chest lightly before wrapping her hands around his neck to hold on. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently, and began to head through to the bedroom.

"Oh wait! I want my purse," Gabriella said, gesturing toward where she had dropped her clutch purse by the coffee table.

Troy obediently turned around and went back, ever so carefully bending down by the knees to put her within reach to grasp at it and put the strap around her wrist.

"Oh and we should blow out the candles!" Gabriella exclaimed. "It's… I love them but they can be dangerous if left unattended, you know?"

Troy laughed lightly, and carried her throughout the room, allowing her to pick up each of the candles and blow them out. On second thought Gabriella picked up two of the vanilla scented candles and carried them with her. She precariously set the candles down on the bedside tables as Troy carefully rested her on the bed. He moved toward the stereo which sat upon the dark timber dresser and began to fiddle with the dials.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella asked, as she was pulling back the ocean themed comforter.

He held up a finger, indicating to her he wouldn't be long. He began to search through the radio stations, bypassing sports commentary, talk back radio and country music before coming across a station playing soft acoustic rock which both he and Gabriella enjoyed. He smiled in satisfaction and strode back over to perch beside her on the bed.

"I'm just going to grab a glass of water, would you like one?" Troy asked softly.

Gabriella nodded and when Troy disappeared back out to the kitchen, she made a quick trip into the bathroom, using the facilities, fluffing her hair, reapplying lip gloss – hence the retrieval of her purse. Finally she readjusted her bra, pulling down and pushing up. When she reappeared into the bedroom, Troy had just re-entered with the glasses of water, and handed a glass over to her. She took a mouthful before placing the glass onto the bedside table.

"Do you want anything else? Would you like something to eat, is the temperature right, can I…" Troy trailed off as Gabriella's hand ran up his abs, over his pecs, and came to rest on his shoulders.

"There's just the one thing that I want," Gabriella said, her eyes sparkling.

"What's that?"

"You."

It would be impossible to recall the number of kisses that had been exchanged. Chaste kisses, heated kisses, playful kisses, slow kisses, probing kisses. Kisses of every variety imaginable had been shared.

And yet somehow, it was now different. There was no tangible, defining element which contrasted the kiss to any other kiss. Without physical words being spoken, it was said without being said that there was something different. Gradually, clothes were shed in the midst of whimpers, mewls and pants. Warm bodies collapsed onto the bed, pulling over the comforter and creating their own private cocoon of love.

The weeks of foreplay, of taking the time to become comfortable with one another's bodies and within their own skin, had resulted in this very moment. A moment in time within which thoughts of the oddities of the human form were far away. Entangled on the bed wasn't naked Troy and naked Gabriella. It was just Troy and Gabriella, raw, whole, exposed; completely enraptured within every inch of the other.

As his lips diverted from her lips and began to forge its familiar trail of sensation down her neck, Gabriella's head tipped back, her back arching. Her fist was enclosed around his shaft, pumping languidly. His south bound trail of kisses had found its destination, fixated upon her left breast. His tongue swirled around her nipple at the very moment that his thumb traced a circle around her clit. Gabriella moaned, her hips writhing in anticipation.

"God I love you," Troy murmured into her breasts.

And it was at that exact moment that she knew.

She knew it was right.

"Troy?" Gabriella whispered.

"Mmm?" Troy said. His teeth were now toying gently with her nipple.

"Do you have condoms?"

Troy became completely still, desisting from both the suckling and the finger thrusting. His hand retracted from her wet folds; his head tipped, looking straight at her as he responded, his tone almost uncertain.

"Yes…"

"Good."

"Gabi… are you… are you saying that… because if we…. You don't have to…"

"Troy," Gabriella said softly, interrupting his stammered run on of unfinished sentences. She brought her index finger to rest lightly against his lips. "No discussion required."

He slithered up, his weight resting on the bed beside her, lying on his side. "Okay."

He leaned down, lips meeting in a soft kiss.

"Troy… where?" Gabriella prodded patiently.

"Where, what?"

"The… the condoms?"

"Oh! Umm… in the drawer beside you… which sounds presumptuous I realise…"

Gabriella had reached out, opened the drawer, and fished around, pulling out not only a little plastic package but…

"Lubricant," she observed.

"Also… perhaps looks presumptuous," Troy said sheepishly.

Gabriella shook her head, and smiled coyly. "I would go with… efficient and prepared."

* * *

_Troy smiled, rolling his eyes. "Okay. And when I was freaking out about making our dates perfect, you know what you said to me? You said that all that mattered was that you were here with me. Well I'm telling you this now – kissing isn't about logistics. It's about what's in here," Troy pointed to his chest, over his heart. "It's about… it's about expressing and sharing what you feel… what we both feel. It's about being connected… it's about letting go. For use of better terminology, it's about breaking free," Troy said wryly. "I get that you like being in control and so this is freaking you out because it's unknown. Think of it as like the first time we sang together. It was scary as all hell, you were tentative at first – but once you let go and allowed yourself to feel the music – how was it then?"_

_"Like magic," Gabriella whispered._

* * *

Troy pressed his lips to Gabriella's in a sweet, soft kiss as he stroked the side of her face lightly with the back of his fingertips.

"Are you sure about this? I mean… if you're not sure… then please don't be afraid to tell me because it's okay," he said gently. "It would be perfectly understandable if you still had reservations or…"

"Troy." He paused, his cerulean orbs meeting her chocolate brown gaze. "I'm sure," Gabriella said softly. "I've never been surer about anything in my entire life."

She picked up the little foil package, her hand shaking ever so slightly as she handed it to him.

"You're going to have to do it. When I did it in sex ed, I broke the condom."

Troy took the package from her, his hand almost shaking as much as hers. "I squished the banana."

"Let's not let that happen now," Gabriella said, smiling slyly.

"Are you umm…"

Troy wasn't sure how to phrase his question, so instead brought his hand down to gently massage within her folds. She gasped involuntarily, shuddering slightly. She understood what he was asking, and nodded. "I'm ready."

The implication of _ready_ being both physically and emotionally.

"Umm… I think I need to be more… um… hard. To put it on," Troy murmured tactfully.

Gabriella was quick to grasp a hold of his length and once again begin her familiar up and down pumping motion, this time stepping up from languid and into the category of steady. Lips once again united, and Troy took the opportunity to further ensure that she was physically ready, bringing his nimble fingers down to toy with her clit gently.

"Oohh… keep going…" Troy said, exhaling sharply.

He removed his stroking fingers and grabbed the square foil package, tearing the packet open with precision. It was an act he had rehearsed time and time again. It was an act which he knew he would perform one day with intent behind the motion – but now that he was in that moment, he couldn't help but note the surrealism of it. He felt both eagerness and fear in overwhelmingly equal measure. All he could do was focus upon putting it on, he couldn't think ahead to why he was putting it on, because his hand was already trembling a little. He gently indicated that she should desist from her pumping, and awkwardly slid the plastic encasing around his length.

"Does that look right?" Troy murmured, not necessarily speaking to her but just verbalising his thoughts.

Gabriella nodded. "Uh huh."

She then handed him the tube of lubricant, which Troy was slightly more familiar with. Once again, all he could do was approach the task as being independent to a series of intent filled tasks. He didn't want to get his hands sticky, so he squeezed it on and used the tip of the tube to spread the jelly about. Task three was placing himself in a geographically logistical placement. Troy took a minute, placing himself into ideal positioning poised above her, with his upper body currently being held above her. Poised on top, just inches away from entering her, he hesitated, the sudden realisation hitting him of what he was about to do.

"Troy?" Gabriella murmured questioningly. Her fingertips gently stroked his cheek.

"I don't want to hurt you," he admitted softly.

"It's going to hurt no matter what we do. We've talked about this."

"I know. That should be me assuring you of that, shouldn't it?"

"It's okay. It'll be okay," Gabriella said soothingly.

"I love you," Troy murmured.

"I love you too," Gabriella's quiet yet earnest reply came.

Lips met in one final trembling kiss. Gabriella's arms hooked around under Troy's arms, firmly grasping onto his shoulders. Gabriella gasped as he gently, yet firmly, slid his length into her. Her eyes pricked with tears involuntarily, overwhelmed with not only discomfort but a sharp pain, a pain which lay beyond any pain she had ever anticipated. She felt herself stretching, a forced stretching, and not in a pleasant stretching to accommodate him way. For Troy, it was like pressing into molten lava that encased and caressed him. An involuntary grunt escaped from his mouth, his eyes closing tight in complete overwhelm of the sensation. He paused about half way into her, finally allowing himself to open his eyes. He observed her eyes which were also squeezed tightly closed, riding the wave of the initial pain that she suspected any moment now was going to heighten further.

"Gabi? Are you okay?" Troy murmured. "Do you want me to pull out?"

Gabriella's eyes fluttered open, her glassy eyes meeting his wide, nervous eyes.

"No," she whispered, bringing her hand from his shoulder to caress the side of his cheek. "No. Keep going."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Even with just the tip of his length inside of her without movement taking place, he had reached a point of being almost incoherent.

"Do you want me to do it slow or…"

"Just… get this bit over with," Gabriella murmured.

In anticipation, her fingertips dug a little deeper into Troy's shoulders. In a quick, sharp movement, he thrust himself the remainder of the way; only stopping once he was completely surrounded by her. Simultaneously, Troy let out a ragged grunt; whereas Gabriella let out a cry and a whimper. But it wasn't a cry or a whimper like what he wanted to hear.

He stopped, not only to provide her a moment to adjust, but also to provide himself with a much needed moment of reflection. It was overwhelming. Physically, the concept of being inside of a woman. It was different to stroking himself; different to any touch she had provided; different to any sensation he had ever experienced or had fathomed could possibly exist. They were here; they had finally arrived at this place. Not only was he filled with indescribable physical sensations, but he was overwhelmed by the connection he felt to this amazing woman at that moment in time, more connected than he had ever felt to anyone. He was overwhelmed with sensation and heat and pleasure… and love.

Gabriella was clutching to his shoulders, taking slow laboured breaths in an attempt to accommodate to the feeling of having him inside of her. On a certain level, it felt wrong, it felt like he was somewhere he wasn't meant to be; it felt like this place of stinging pain and discomfort could not possibly be equated with any act of goodness. She'd done her research and knew that the pain could range from a mild discomfort, to a slight stinging, to blatant pain. Hers was the latter of the three. She and Troy had discussed this fact; and they had talked about the fact that, as a matter of biology, they were going to have very different first times.

However what was pulling her through and what was stopping her from insisting that he retract completely, was what she felt connected to on a far higher and far more significant level. The symbolism of their love, the emotional connection, the trust she bestowed upon him by allowing him inside of her. It trumped the pain, it trumped the discomfort.

Troy and Gabriella ceased to exist as individual entities. The line between where she finished and he began had washed away. In that moment in time, neither could comprehend existing any other way.

"Oh Gabi… this is… oh my…" Troy gasped, unable to form any kind of complete speech.

His forehead rested upon hers, pressing a trembling kiss to her lips. His hips bucked slightly, attempting to remain still in his effort of keeping her needs in mind, however his body not listening and responding involuntarily. Her chocolate eyes fluttered open once again, meeting his cerulean gaze. She was not only seeing him, but she was feeling and appreciating and understanding him. As she gazed into his wide eyes; she registered the weight of his overwhelm.

"I'm okay now… you can move," Gabriella said quietly, encouraging him, sensing that he felt the primal need to let go and that he was holding back for her benefit.

She pressed her lips softly against his, causing his response of kissing her fervently in return. He shifted his weight as he placed himself into better position, and then slowly retracted himself from her before pushing back in again. He had gone into the encounter with so many expectations; wanting to be controlled and gentle and considerate and to create a mutually mind blowing sensation for both. However in the moment, it was his body which possessed the control, and not his mind. For a few thrusts he had managed to keep his movements gentle, but he found himself building into a rhythm, an involuntary rhythm his body was insisting upon as the ecstasy of the sensation overtook him whole.

"Fuck… oh shit…" Troy groaned.

Gabriella winced a little with each downstroke; however she became somewhat accustomed to the movement. Every so often his relatively fluid strokes would jolt, his hips bucking in a fight between his body and his mind, his body winning out with involuntary reactions to the stimulation. All Gabriella could do was try to contain the contorted whimpers which threatened to cry out. Trembling lips met in a series of soft kisses. Gabriella was transfixed by Troy's physical reaction. His eyes were rolled back, his mouth contorting as grunts and gasps of laboured breathing escaped from his lips

"I umm… I don't think I'm going to last long," Troy murmured apologetically,

On a purely physical level, Gabriella could describe it as nice, something comforting about his rhythm. The pain more or less subsided, leaving only an overall discomfort behind. She had become familiar with his pants and grunts and groans, she could hear the impending orgasm building within his tone. And she already sensed that there was no point in hanging around for her own.

"I love you," she murmured breathily just by his ear. "You can let it go, baby, don't hold back. Just go with it."

Troy nodded, and pressed a lazy kiss to her lips as he continued his stroking, thrusting rhythm. Sliding in and out, in and out; her slick, tight channel provided a sensation that he never before could have fathomed to exist. It was building, climbing, rising. As he reached the height of the summit, he was staring lovingly and adoringly into her eyes. She observed at his eyes widened in the sudden realisation that the climax was upon him.

"Oh fuck… God…. Gabi…. Love you…. Love you…"

His words came in a mumbled, groaned stammer. He wanted to convey to her just how incredible she was making him feel, he wanted to convey the depth of just how much he loved her within that moment of time. There were no words, no amount of name chanting or expletive shouting would be able to capture the essence of that moment of time.

For a brief moment she felt a pang of jealousy, a pang of resentment that she couldn't be there in that exact same moment with him. However his waves of ecstasy soon subsided and his thrusting motions thwarted. He collapsed on top of her in a satiated heap, foreheads touching, his nose rubbing slightly against hers before his lips melted into hers lazily.

"Gabriella… that was… oh my God I love you."

The pang of resentment could not be further away. There was something surreal about another human being so incredibly satiated as a result of your love making. She understood the essence of the moment, even though she had existed within it differently. The feeling of contentment and love and power that came with the knowledge of what they had just done was more important than a few short seconds of pleasure.

Troy slowly and carefully pulled out of her before he softened completely, and turned to the task of condom removal. He reached for tissues from the nightstand to wrap it up. He then turned back to nestle beside her, the soft music from the speakers and Troy's evening out breaths the predominant sounds that filled the cool night air. His hand lovingly ran over her body as he nestled into the crook of her neck to press a soft kiss. A slight gasp emitted from Gabriella's tone, a gasp which Troy knew was indicative of stimulation.

At which point, it sunk in.

"Oh God I'm so sorry," Troy gasped, somewhat summoning a spurt of energy from within his post orgasm sleepiness.

"Ssshhh why are you sorry?" Gabriella murmured, reaching out to stroke her fingers against his cheek.

"You didn't… you know… did you?"

"It doesn't matter," Gabriella insisted softly, pressing her lips to his and kissing him passionately. "I love you so much… so so so much."

"It does matter," Troy insisted.

He pressed his lips to hers softly, initiating a slow, soft kiss, just the way he knew she liked it. Troy inched his hand south and gently massaged where he had learnt she enjoyed it most.

"God you're so perfect," he whispered huskily into her ear. "Every inch of you is perfect and that was so amazing and I cannot wait until you can feel that too, babe."

His voice was music to her ears, and despite the continuing discomfort and the beginnings of what she suspected was going to be a severe case of morning after stiffness; the build which she had began to experience prior to their love making was quick to return. He was concentrating solely upon her nub, no teasing games of building her up and then taking the moment away. He had one goal in mind, and it didn't take long for him to bring her over the edge, shuddering against him, panting and moaning his name in a cry of gratification.

Troy gazed at his girlfriend, his lover, his soul mate – with a stare of pure and simple love. Hair mussed up, skin slightly sticky and sweaty, cheeks flushed, smudged make up – she was perfect.

"Thank you," Gabriella said quietly.

Troy pressed a tender kiss to her shoulder. "Thank _you._"

She turned onto her side, nestling herself into the warm and comforting cocoon of his loving arms.

"Are you okay?" Troy murmured beside her ear from behind. "Can I get you anything?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Just… hold me."

* * *

**AN: **This is the most important chapter I had ever written. If there's a time to review, it's right now. I implore you to please let me know your thoughts. -Dani xo


	52. Epilogue

**S O M E D A Y**

**PART ONE:** Once Upon A Time

**SUMMARY:** Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG CxT. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not claim to be responsible for the creation of this brilliant set of characters. I just play with them. And make no money from it. Really. I also have no affiliation with the musical genius of Vanessa Amorosi.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I am uploading an _entire chapter_ dedicated to an author's note after this so I don't think more needs to be said. Please read it, I talk about what's going to happen with the trilogy. Okay? :-)

* * *

**E P I L O G U E**

. . .

_In my dreams you were perfect, when I woke up you were perfect… here and now, the moment's perfect._

- 'Perfect' by Vanessa Amorosi

* * *

It was 3am, early Sunday morning. Gabriella had awoken with a feeling of insane pressure from her bladder. Troy had moved over in his sleep, so fortunately she was able to ease herself off the bed without disturbing him. She felt a sudden bashfulness as she stood stark naked in the Evans' guest house. Her eyes darted around the room, glanced back at Troy to assure she hadn't interrupted his sleep, and then quietly opened the door through to the living area. She drew in a sharp breath, feeling a sudden discomfort as she moved. It wasn't an overwhelming pain, rather it reminded her of how she would feel when she studied compulsory physical education and they would start playing a new sport, hence using muscles that weren't accustomed to being utilised. A lamp was still on in the corner, providing just enough light to locate Troy's t-shirt which was sprawled haphazardly on the plush cream carpet. She snatched it up and immediately pulled it over her head, instantly feeling a whole lot more comfortable. She quietly re-entered the bedroom and continued through to the en suite bathroom.

* * *

Meanwhile in the bedroom, Troy stirred in his sleep and absentmindedly reached out with his right hand to feel the warm body of the incredible woman who lay before him. Except that there was no form in front of him, and his eyes fluttered open to see an empty bed. He immediately frowned, and let out a slight yawn as he rolled over and swung his legs to hit the floor in a slight thud. He went over to the bathroom door, knocking softly.

"Gabriella?" he called quietly.

"Just a second," her muffled reply came back through the door. A moment later he heard the toilet flush, then the lock of the door clicking as she opened the door and turned back to the sink.

"Did I wake you up?" she asked, as she turned on the tap and squirted soap to her palm.

"No, I just woke up and you weren't there," Troy said, stepping to stand behind her and wrap his arms around her waist. He yawned once more.

"I had to pee," she said with a small smile. "Is that okay?"

He leaned down, his chin resting on her shoulder as he watched her in the mirror. "I suppose," he relented teasingly.

Gabriella turned to reach for the handtowel, once again wincing as she moved in a manner her body wasn't entirely happy about. Troy observed the wince in the mirror, and pressed a soft kiss to her neck just above the edge of the neckline of his shirt.

"Are you okay?" he asked, filled with concern.

She nodded, her now clean, dry hands coming down to rest on his which were securely rested on her abdomen. "Fine," she assured him. "A little sore. I think it'll kick in more in the morning."

She remained standing in front of the mirror, making no movement back toward the bedroom. Instead she was staring at her reflection.

"Do I look different?" she mused out loud.

Troy slithered around to stand in front of her, and then placed his hands on her upper arms as he mockingly examined her.

"Well, let's see. You've got a bit of hair up here that is sticking out, but given that I was just looking at my own hair in the mirror, I wouldn't dare to criticise yours. Your eyes are the same, and your cute little nose, and your incredibly kissable lips," his voice lowered, leaning forward to sweetly press his lips to hers, lingering for a moment before pulling away. "If anything, maybe I would say that you look even more beautiful, but I don't know if that's physically possible."

She giggled slightly in response, looking a little embarrassed. "You are so corny."

"Although I must say that you lose points since you are using my clothing to cover yourself up," Troy said in a mockingly serious tone. "I am perfectly content baring my all to you."

Gabriella smiled coyly, glancing down at the bulge she had already felt pressing against her hip. "Yes, so I feel. Having a nice dream, were you?"

"Always."

"Sorry that your needs weren't satisfied earlier," she commented, unable to look at him.

"Oh my needs were more than satisfied, satisfied doesn't begin to describe it. It just… left me wanting more I guess," Troy confessed with a sly smile. "I guess I just… I wish it could have been like that for you."

"Hey! What do you mean by that?" Gabriella asked, not liking his tone.

"You didn't even… you know… during. I couldn't make you… since I didn't last long."

She sensed the dent to Troy's pride.

"Troy, to be honest, I think you could have kept going for hours and I might not have… gotten there," Gabriella said tactfully.

"What, I was that terrible?" Troy said, his tone jovial but his words reflecting his true insecurities.

"No! That's not how I meant it. It wasn't you. It was me," she insisted. "Even if that sounds cliché. I don't… I don't know how to describe to you how it felt for me."

"Do you think… how long do you think it'll be like that for you?" Troy asked somewhat tentatively. No matter how amazing it had been, it really wasn't pleasant watching what she had gone through in order for him to reach such a height of sensation.

Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know. I'd assume the worst is over."

"The worst? Gee… you're back at stroking my insecurities, babe."

"Physically it hurt Troy, it hurt like hell. But it was about more than that, so much more. Please tell me that you understand that," Gabriella said, her tone edging on frustration.

"I do understand that," Troy said, his tone softening. He reached out with his hand, stroking her cheek. "I just… I guess I had this idealistic hope that maybe we could bypass the whole first time being painful and crap thing. What I felt… oh fuck Gabriella, I can't begin to describe it to you." His starry-eyed expression was enough to explain it. "I know you felt it on that deeper level coz I so totally got that too. But on that simpler level of… of just how it felt, physically… I want you to feel that part."

"I will," Gabriella said, both earnestly and encouragingly. "All we can do is to keep trying."

"God I love you," Troy said huskily, lips crashing down to meet hers.

He was now questioning the sanity of initiating a portion of the 'morning after' conversation at 3 in the morning. Particularly when he had gone to sleep still feeling a little aroused, leading to dreams which finally were an imitation of real life rather than pure fantasy. Recalling the events of the night before was only serving to heighten the arousal.

Gabriella reciprocated the vigour of his kiss, despite the early hour of the morning she was hit by a sudden burst of energy, a burst of energy which was fuelled by a longing somewhere in her lower abdomen and below. The bulge she had already felt pressing against her hip was growing even without any direct stimulation. There in the bathroom, she allowed herself to be caught up in the intoxicating world of Troy's lips and tongue, to feel the warmth of his smooth skin beneath her fingertips, to feel the heat of his wandering hands beneath the fabric of the t-shirt she wore.

With no warning, Troy tore his lips away from hers.

"Sorry… I got carried away," he mumbled. "Let's go back to sleep."

He spoke the words almost out of obligatory politeness; trying to be the good guy, the considerate guy who didn't just assume that his arousal would equate to the activity he so desperately desired. But there was a frantic ache within the organ between his thighs which yearned to satiated; an ache which was bound to prevent any sleep from taking place.

"No," came Gabriella's breathy reply.

"No?" Troy repeated, in slight disbelief.

"Perhaps… perhaps we try again now," Gabriella suggested coyly.

Troy blinked, almost in disbelief. "What about… aren't you sore and stuff?" he asked, genuinely concerned that she was merely intent upon satisfying his needs and brushing aside her own.

The recollection of the pain she had experienced could not be further away. The slight twinge of discomfort she felt if she moved in the wrong direction was entirely irrelevant. Instead, her longing for him emerged as the overriding factor. She pressed her body close to his and kissed him with a zealous lust. Even as their bodies were flush together in absolute contact, she was filled with a swell of desperate need to bridge the gap between them.

"If at first you don't succeed…" Gabriella said, trailing off and flashing a small, assuring smile.

"Are you sure?" Troy asked. "Because I can just…"

He trailed off, suddenly being distracted. Gabriella had taken a step back, and his eyes were suddenly transfixed upon her slender fingers which were toying with the hem of his t-shirt. In one fluid motion, she pulled the fabric over her head and cast the item aside. Troy swallowed hard, feeling his already hardening member twitch a little at the sight. Gabriella never failed to feel a surge of power whenever Troy's wandering eyes would glance at her approvingly. It wasn't only a gaze of approval, but it was also pure, unadulterated lust. He had no poker face when it came to the thoughts which filled his mind upon viewing her sleek, naked form.

Troy's lips attacked Gabriella's with a lust she had never felt from him before. He'd experienced one brief taste of the ultimate culmination of their love, he'd been inside of her for those brief minutes and all he wanted was to replicate them over and over and over. Like a drug, he was now to be addicted forevermore. It was overpowering for Gabriella, feeling just how desperate he was to return to that place. It exacerbated her frantic need to be in that precise moment with him again; and hopefully this time, on all levels.

Her fingers raked through the strands of his hair as he gently guided her back out of the bathroom and toward the bed. He was careful, guiding her to sit down and then gently pushing her to lie back, nestled amongst the pillows and beneath the warmth of the comforter. He treated her almost as though she were fragile, porcelain, susceptible to breaking at any given moment. His hands were running softly over her sleek, smooth skin; gently squeezing her breasts and grazing his fingers in a tantalising circle around her nipples. His delicate treatment was only serving to tease and arouse, to create the desire for more. The exception to his treatment was his lips. His lips were leading the kiss and maintaining the fervent lust. She returned the vigour of the kiss, her own hands raking through his hair, clutching to his firm back muscles, and trailing down to lazily stroke at his increasingly hardening length.

Troy's hands had worked their way southward, he was caressing at her abdomen, upper thighs, lower back and the smooth skin which lay below; almost as though intent upon massaging out the kinks. His fingers began to intoxicatingly trail among her wet folds, causing Gabriella to moan into his kiss. Her grasp around his length became a little firmer, a little steadier – but still ensuring the pace was one to tease and arouse, not to cause an unfortunate early climax. Troy slowly pulled his lips away from hers, sucking lightly on her lower lip before moving away altogether. His breathing was laboured, skin warming.

"Gabriella… is this okay?" Troy asked softly as he delicately used his middle and index fingers to toy with her opening.

She nodded and bit her lip, feeling the swell of anticipation. His next step was to carefully insert his fingers inside of her. In many ways it was reminiscent of the first time he had touched her in that way, when left alone for the weekend so many weeks earlier. Entering his digits so carefully, being captivated by the warmth and wetness and sensation of her inner walls, and yet also being so precarious.

"And is that okay?" Troy murmured, gently thrusting his fingers within.

"Uh huh," she responded, punctuating the point with a gasp.

Troy's nimble fingers were carefully thrusting within her depths, and his thumb was lightly flicking at her clit. In the short few months since they'd embarked upon the new depths of their physical relationship, they'd learnt a lot about each other, about their bodies, about how they responded to one another. In many ways, they were back at square one, within a whole different ballpark. Troy wanted to be the perfect lover, but he didn't even fully comprehend how he could control his bodily responses; let alone how to control his own body in order to control hers.

"I'm gonna get you almost there… and then we can try. If it doesn't hurt too much, then hopefully you'll be close enough that I'll last long enough," Troy murmured breathily. "And if it hurts too much, you can tell me and we'll finish it another way. Okay?"

All Gabriella could do was nod. Troy had a way of rendering her incapable of forming coherent strings of words. He applied an additional sensation, latching his lips to the swell of her left breast. Luckily, she was aware of her task at that particular moment. Her fist was encased around his length, stroking steadily, not too fast, not too slow. Her task was to get him hard. It was blunt, it was simple – but that was about all she was capable of working with.

Her free hand was clutching to his back, if her pants and moans and writhing hips weren't enough to illustrate her arousal, her fingernails – which were thankfully short – would dig a little into his skin. It merely served to heighten his own arousal, to boost his own confidence, knowing precisely at which moments Gabriella was close to tipping over the edge. Hearing and feeling and sensing how close she was, allowed Troy to not worry about just how quickly he felt himself hardening.

"I'm so… so close… you need to stop…" Gabriella gasped.

Her breathing was ragged; skin was hot and tingling; the fire burning in her abdomen out of control. It took every ounce of her own self control to say the words; all she wanted was to tip over the edge. But even more so, she wanted to experience that climax with him. His encircling thumb stopped moving altogether and the pace of his thrusting fingers reverted. He didn't want to take away the pressure altogether, rather he wanted to maintain it.

"Can you reach the condoms?" Troy murmured, letting out a slight groan as Gabriella's strokes increased. Without thwarting the pumping movement of her fist around his length, Gabriella was able to reach over into the drawer and retrieve a square package, as well as the lubricant.

"Can I do it?" she asked.

Troy nodded, hiding a smile, fascinated by the innocent curiosity to her hopeful enquiry. As she tore the package open, he continued to languorously thrust his fingers, and brought his left hand to pump at his member in a frenzy, facilitating the final hardening of his length. Gabriella was struggling to concentrate, having been brought so close to the edge and now being toyed with so playfully. She struggled with the foil for a moment before tearing it open. She bit her tongue as she leaned over to encase his hard length, and then apply the lubricant; imitating his method from the evening before.

And then there he was, once again hovering above her. Her wide brown eyes stared up into his bright blue eyes, the gaze remaining as Troy pushed into her, taking his time. Once again he was surrounded, sheathed, encased with the warmth of her wet, warm channel; a withdrawn groan emitting from his mouth. It was almost as though the overwhelming peak of sensation he had experienced the evening before was up on this pedestal that he thought was impossible to attain ever again. He couldn't help but wonder whether his mind was playing tricks on him, creating a figment of his imagination. How could anything possibly feel as amazing as it had? But now, it came washing back and it was sublimely real.

"Ohh… Troy…" she gasped.

Gabriella knew it couldn't possibly be as painful as it had been a few hours earlier. Either way though, she was prepared for the worst, she had survived through the first time relatively unscathed. She was gazing up into Troy's comforting eyes, allowing herself to be transfixed by the mesmerising blue. As he entered inside, she once again felt herself stretching, but it wasn't the painful, ripping, tearing type of stretching she had experienced only a few hours earlier. She still felt the discomfort – some of it the result of the pre-existing soreness she had played down; some of it stemming from the fact that her body simply wasn't physically used to accommodating him. But it was a perfectly manageable discomfort, a discomfort which Gabriella was able to almost forget about completely. Because Troy was inside of her and instead of questioning his presence or simply allowing it to take place; she wanted him to be there, it felt right, it felt like this was exactly how they belonged – together, as one.

"You okay?" he murmured.

He pressed his lips to hers softly as he withdrew himself before pushing back in.

"Yes," she breathed, gasping slightly at the sensation, completely overwhelmed by it.

"Is it better?"

Gabriella nodded. "Better… good…" she let out a moan as his hips drove into her once more. "Keep going."

Troy didn't need any more encouragement. Once he had his weight balanced in the right place, it became a lot easier to fall into the rhythm. He was trying to keep his strokes fairly slow and even, however the involuntary bucking of his hips took over, more than once driving himself in a lot faster and harder than he intended, causing a slight wince from her.

"Sorry," he murmured, pressing his lips to hers softly.

The first time, once the stinging pain had passed and only the discomfort remained, Gabriella could concede that it felt nice. Now it was different. Now it felt not only nice but she could feel exactly how it was that the friction of his length sliding in and out of her was going to build into something more. She could already feel it building. The discomfort was still there, a soreness with her muscles and the raw sting from the first union. But it was pushed aside. She felt a love, an attraction, a connection to Troy that she never really fathomed she could feel. This time, she could hear his laboured breathing and grunts and occasional muttered expletives; and it was being met by her own whimpers which escalated into slight moans and pants.

"Fuck Gabi… this is… holy… so amazing…" he panted.

She nodded in agreement, a series of lazy kisses ensuing. Each was panting and moaning within the kiss. Gabriella was struggling to form any sort of coherent thought, completely overcome by the new layer to the love making. Her initial whimpers and moans had escalated to meet the constant flow of grunts and pants escaping from Troy's mouth.

"Love you… so much…" she moaned, her hands gripping harder to his back.

"Gabi baby… I'm so… so close…" Troy stammered.

Her hands tightened their grip on his back even more. "Not yet," she pleaded. "Please… I'm… I'll get there… need more…"

Troy wished that he had the capability to just pull some inner strength out from within, but he knew that he was beyond that point. Somehow, he balanced his weight above her with just the one arm and carefully took one of the hands she had gripped to him. He brought it down, a silent demonstration that she needed to massage her clit, maximise the sensations. The moment her index finger had contact with her nub, she let out a louder whimper.

"Is that good?" Troy cooed, before pressing his lips to hers softly. She responded to his kiss, tongues playing and toying.

It had built in a rise, a crescendo. She'd felt it before, the feeling of the gradual climax, knowing that any moment now, _the moment_ was going to take place. She was writhing, her hips bucking; only causing Troy to drive even deeper inside of her. On a certain level it hurt but she was within such a place of unadulterated pleasure that the pain beared no meaning. One moment she was in the rise and the next she was at the summit and completely taken over by sensation and pleasure and love.

Troy couldn't help but stare in absolute transfix as she finally reached her peak; to stare at her contorted face; her wide eyes glazing over. He'd never heard a sound like it before; his name being chanted amongst a cross between a moan, a cry and a drawn out pant.

"Troy… oh my… Troy… Troy…."

Between the sensation of her muscles contracting around him; and then his length driving deeper into her as her writhing and hip bucking reached a point of being almost out of control – that was all it took for Troy to reach his own climax.

Gabriella lay still on the bed; she was clinging to the sheet on either side of her and staring at the ceiling with wide eyes in a state of complete sensory overload. Her brain was working in overload trying to comprehend the dozens of thoughts that were swarming around. Momentary flashes of contemplating the correlation and cause and effect between the intense emotional connection of sex and the absolutely indescribable ecstasy she had just experienced.

"That was… oh my…" Gabriella was at complete loss for words, panting the half sentences between ragged breaths.

Troy had removed the condom and collapsed beside her in a sweaty heap. "Uh huh."

"Thank you to my bladder for waking me up," Gabriella murmured in her first coherent thought.

Troy chuckled lightly and pressed a sweet kiss to her shoulder. "You're so beautiful," he said softly, his fingers tucking some strands of her hair back.

"I love you," Gabriella murmured, nestling in by his side.

"Love you too."

* * *

Gabriella awoke to the feeling that someone was watching her. It wasn't a discomforting, disconcerting feeling of being watched in a stalker-ish way. It was a comforting feeling. She rolled over to be lying on her back and allowed her eyelids to flutter open. Sunlight peeked into the room through the slight gaps in the horizontal timber blinds. Gabriella's first view of the morning – Troy propped up on his elbow, gazing down at her. It was something she could very easily become accustomed to.

"Morning," he said softly, a smile playing on his lips.

"Morning," she replied.

"How are you?"

"Perfect."

"Do you feel sore?"

"A little," Gabriella confessed. "More than last night. But it's not too bad. Manageable, anyway."

Troy leaned down, pressing his lips to hers for a short, sweet good morning kiss.

"I love you so much. And I just want to spend every waking and every sleeping moment of every single day with you."

"That might prove difficult," Gabriella whispered. "To start with, you'd have to let me play on your basketball team."

They both laughed gently, eyes sparkling as they gazed at one another. A moment of silence cast upon them, but it wasn't the uncomfortable silence that they had both had feared could have transpired. It was a secure silence, a silence where they could lie and gaze at one another, experiencing a mutual and wholly mesmerising awareness of love.

Lips met for a lazy kiss, tongues playfully entwining. Both sets of lips were a little tender and swollen, even hours after their early morning love-making. This didn't thwart the intoxicating sensation, if anything it merely heightened the anticipatory intensity, with lips barely grazing and tongues teasing in what was only a prelude.

Troy's phone began to start chirping with his text message tone within his jeans pocket on the floor. Gabriella tore her lips away from his, immediately Troy seized the opportunity to duck his head and devote his attention to her right breast.

"Was that your…" Gabriella began to say, interrupting her own train with a sharp breath taken in response to his teasing tongue against her nipple.

"Ignore it," Troy said huskily, his tone muffled as his lips were pressed up against the swell of her breast.

"What if it's important?" Gabriella asked, gasping slightly as he suckled at her nipple

"They'll call," Troy murmured.

"Troy… can you just check it… please?" Gabriella said imploringly.

Troy let out a slightly aggravated sigh, but nevertheless he propelled himself off the bed and quickly seized his jeans to retrieve his cell phone.

"It's from Ryan," Troy informed her.

"What did you tell him to get this place, anyway?" Gabriella asked curiously.

"I told him that we wanted somewhere private to talk about college plans. He seemed to see through that and think that maybe I had something else in mind. He gave me a speech which I'm sure was meant to sound threatening but from him just sounded ridiculous. But I suppose the sentiment was there. Anyway, then he gave me the key on Friday."

"What does he want? Do we have to get out by a certain time?"

Troy shook his head and scanned the message.

_Morning. Hope I'm not interrupting the 'talking.' Check out the fridge and pantry. And just warning you that the crew is planning to hang here today, and Chad and Taylor were already questioning where you guys disappeared to last night. Either remain hidden all day or take off without being seen, or I think you'll face an inquisition._

Troy snorted. "That'd be right, Danforth would get all nosey."

"Huh?"

Troy read the text aloud for Gabriella.

She smiled slightly. "I really couldn't care less what they're all doing."

"You don't care that they will be speculating and wondering and insinuating what we are doing?"

"Well, they'd be on the money, wouldn't they?" Gabriella pointed out slyly. "And no, I don't care. Let them wonder."

She very purposefully took the cell phone from Troy's hand and placed it onto the bedside table. Her move had definition and direction, Troy was watching with an intrigued smile when suddenly she surprised him by initiating a vigorous kiss. He was more than willing to go with the rhythm she was instigating, more than liking where he thought it was heading.

* * *

"Okay, if someone could grab the maple syrup and bananas and whatever else you all want, and put it out at the table," Zeke instructed, calling behind him.

He was carefully watching over the pancake which was in the pan, waiting for the perfect moment when the bubbles had appeared and he could flip it over.

He didn't notice any movement behind him heading toward the fridge, and glanced back to confirm that no one had come to help.

"Guys? Do you want pancakes or not?" Zeke said impatiently. "Help me here some, I'm doing the hard work."

Chad, Taylor and Ryan weren't even in earshot of Zeke's impatient calls. The night before after Troy's desperate ranting need to find Gabriella and then the disappearance of the pair, Chad and Taylor had made the assumption that they had disappeared into a bedroom to fool around. But when they hadn't reappeared in the morning, Chad had set his mind upon 'uncovering the mystery of the missing couple' and brought Taylor in on his quest. They had been pestering Ryan randomly about what nooks and crannies existed within the giant house where they could possibly be. Chad had gone so far as to knock on each of the doors of guest rooms, with no luck in finding them. Ryan had diplomatically insisted each time Chad had returned to hound him with more questions that he didn't know and it wasn't any of his business as long as they made sure everything was spotless as it had been before they inhabited wherever they were.

Taylor had grown a bit tired with it all, knowing that they would show their faces sooner or later. But now, Chad was obsessed with the matter. He had practically abducted Ryan, pulling him out to the hallway to face an inquisition and dragging Taylor along for the process.

"What if they were kidnapped?" Chad asked wildly.

"They haven't been kidnapped," Ryan said blatantly, his frustration with Chad's tirade increasing.

"How do you know that? You can't _know_ that. Have you seen them recently?"

"Well… no."

"So they _could_ have been kidnapped," Chad said triumphantly.

"Okay, it is highly improbable that they have not been kidnapped," Ryan responded, rolling his eyes.

"Taylor, help me here some," Chad said desperately.

"Maybe you just need to let it go. It's obvious Ryan doesn't know anything," Taylor said, boredom seeping through

Chad didn't believe that, and changed his tact. "Bolton would kill me if I didn't let him know that there are pancakes happening," Chad said defiantly.

"You know what? I think he'll kill you more if you interrupt him so I'll take the blame if he has an issue with the pancakes," Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

Taylor's eyes widened, in Ryan's frustration his practically silent not answering anything stance had allowed one huge massively implicating statement to take place.

"You do know where they are!" Taylor said slowly. "What we keep teasing about…"

"I don't know anything!" Ryan insisted wildly.

"He does know! You know!" Chad said accusingly.

"I'm not listening to this, I am walking away!" Ryan said, and brought his fingers up to his ears. "La la la la la la I am not listening to you."

"Bolton, that dog! I wonder if Zeke knows about it?" Chad pondered.

"Why would Zeke know?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"If he… you know… asked for advice."

"I think you are jumping to conclusions which are none of your business."

"Whatever," Chad said. "Maybe I should call him…"

"Just leave them alone!"

"You've seen them lately. It's been disgusting. I feel offended as a human being, being subjected to observing it."

Taylor possessed a lot more tact than Chad. She didn't disagree – in fact if anything, between what Ryan had said and her general knowledge of where the relationship was at, she suspected Chad was right on the mark. But she knew that if it was her in Gabriella's position, she wouldn't want people speculating about it – and she knew that Gabriella wouldn't be fuelling the gossip, or allowing people to call and interrupt.

"Come on, weren't we going into the TV room to tidy up while waiting for breakfast to be ready," Taylor said, pushing Chad through the hallway ahead of her.

Ryan shot Taylor a grateful smile. "Yes, that's right."

"Why don't you just get your maid people to do it?" Chad mused.

"I don't bother with vacuuming or stuff like that, but they shouldn't have to deal with random garbage lying around, and all the PlayStation and Wii games tossed about the place," Ryan explained.

Chad turned the handle of the TV room door, swung the door open, and…

"Dude!" Chad yelped.

A wide eyed, embarrassed Kelsi and a sheepish Jason sprung apart. If Chad's eyes were not mistaken, he'd just seen a very clear hand up Kelsi's sweater. Taylor and Ryan's view of the scene was obstructed, but as they peered over Chad's shoulder to see the embarrassed and somewhat disheveled couple, it was evident that Chad had seen the full force of a steamy make out session.

"Speaking of disgusting couples I have to observe," Chad said, wrinkling his nose.

"We're dating, what do you think we do? Sit and hold hands?" Jason shot back defensively. "It's not like I've never had to watch you parade around with your girlfriends."

"If you guys want to make out, can you go do it elsewhere? I need to tidy up," Ryan said, breezing into the room. "Preferably somewhere out of eye line. With the last few weeks of musical rehearsals, I've interrupted enough making out to last a life time of interruptions."

"I'm gonna go use the bathroom," Kelsi muttered, and fled from the room.

"Good work guys, embarrass the hell out of her," Jason groaned, his head falling into his hands.

"I'm just being stupid, you know that," Chad said jovially.

Jason stood up, folding his arms across his chest. "I know that and I can take it. But Kelsi gets shy and embarrassed. And this is going good for me and the last thing I need is you fucking it up," he said, his exasperation evident.

Chad blinked, stepping back a little. Jason was possibly the most easy going person he'd ever met, so when he got a bit annoyed, you heard him. "Sorry man. You know that's not what I'm trying to do."

"I know that, I just… yeah. Whatever," Jason held back from elaborating any further.

"Maybe you should go see if she's okay?" Taylor suggested helpfully.

"Oh yeah. That's a good idea. Thanks," Jason said, and darted out of the room.

Jason nearly crashed into Martha who had just appeared in the hallway, having come down from the upstairs bathroom. She watched back after him, feeling slightly perplexed, before heading into the room where he had left.

"Where's the fire?" Martha asked. "Jason just nearly knocked me over."

"Oh… just… we walked in on him and Kelsi making out and he got a bit narky," Ryan attempted to explain in short form.

"I always miss all the drama," Martha grumbled good-naturedly.

Taylor gave her friend a half hug. "I think you're lucky. I wish I could stay out of the drama."

* * *

After his third post coital nap in an eight hour time period, Troy had traipsed out into the kitchenette to check the cupboards and fridge as Ryan had suggested. He located fresh muffins, yoghurt, fruit and juice; and was quick to load up a tray with appropriate items to bring back to Gabriella. When he returned, he found her lying in the bed wearing his t-shirt.

"Hey, what's with the shirt?" Troy protested teasingly. "I already informed you of my not liking it last night."

"You put your boxers on to go out there," Gabriella pointed out.

"That's because you don't go wandering around the living areas of someone else's house naked. The bedroom however is an entirely different matter."

Troy set the tray down on the bedside table, immediately pulled down his blue plaid boxers and settled himself back against the pillows, making a point.

"Do you think that me sitting here naked is going to be conducive toward actually eating breakfast?" Gabriella enquired cheekily.

He paused contemplatively. "You make a good point. In fact, the leg you are showing in that might also be distracting. Let's pull the comforter up over you right now."

She giggled as he made a show out of dragging the comforter up to cover both of them. He then turned back to bring the tray over to rest on his lap.

Within the guest house, Gabriella and Troy were secluded in their own private sanctuary. They took the time to seductively feed one another, to talk and laugh and simply enjoy one another's company. They were lovers, they were soul mates – and they were friends. Friends who could speak openly and freely about anything, who could laugh and joke. Sex changes a lot of things within a relationship. But for Troy and Gabriella, it couldn't touch the mutual comfort and enjoyment of existing within the company of the other.

Once bellies were full, Troy cast aside the tray onto the bedside table. Gabriella stretched out beneath the comforter, an unmistakable wince of discomfort filling her delicate features.

"You're sore."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement. She nodded. "But it's sore in a good way, so stop worrying."

"You should have a hot shower, it might help a little," Troy suggested.

"Mmm a bath sounds heavenly now. Why don't the Evans's have a bath in this guest house? I should put in a complaint," Gabriella said jokingly. "I guess a shower will have to do."

"Do you want me to go out to my truck to get your satchel with your change of clothes?"

"No. You shouldn't have to risk facing the inquisition alone," Gabriella insisted. "I'll just change back into last nights clothes for now."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sharpay had been drawn toward the kitchen by the smell of the pancakes. She had been in the lounge room watching MTV as she painted her nails, but the intoxicating smells were too inviting to just let them go by. She assumed that Ryan had gotten the cook to prepare something for his friends who had stayed over, and was rather surprised to enter the kitchen to see a harried Zeke rushing about.

"Oh. It's you," Sharpay said, her surprise evident upon seeing him.

The pan began to sizzle and Zeke darted from the freezer where he was hunting for the ice-cream back over to the pan.

"Yes, and the ungrateful pricks have left me to do it on my own. Can't even help out by taking some stuff out of the fridge and set up. Do you know if you have any maple syrup? I can't find it anywhere."

Sharpay shrugged. "Umm… I can buzz the cook to find out," Sharpay suggested, blowing on her nails. "Actually, do you realise that you could have just gotten the cook to make these?"

"But I enjoy this. It's not that hard, just throw a few ingredients together and it's practically done."

"You look pretty stressed right now actually," Sharpay observed

"That's only because I can't watch the pan and hunt around to put items out in your dining room all at once."

Sharpay peered over into one of the bowls Zeke had going. "What's that?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes."

She nodded. "Interesting. You actually enjoy this? It seems like an awful lot of work to me. And messy. You know, there are packages of pancake mix where you just add water?"

"I do enjoy it. I love being able to try it different ways, taste it, see what works, what doesn't work, and know that at the end I have a product that people will love."

Sharpay looked at him a little blankly. "I guess..." she said dubiously.

Zeke turned to glance at her. "When you perform… okay… so someone choreographs a dance for you. Do you just do it their way, no changes at all?"

Sharpay scoffed. "No."

"Do you let other people tell you what you should wear on stage?"

"Absolutely not!" Sharpay exclaimed, staring at Zeke in contempt for making such a suggestion "There is this whole long winded process of breaking down the moves and seeing what works for me, for trying on costumes and working out not only what looks good but what is comfortable and what works best with the song or the dance or the scene."

"And so you do that because ultimately, you have to be happy with the final product, you have to be happy with your performance?"

"Well… yes. If you want to put it like that."

"That's kinda like what I do when I cook. I change it up, I see what works together. Yeah?"

"Hmm. I suppose so, that makes sense."

"Do you want to try one?" Zeke offered. "Can you look in the fridge and see if there are any lemons?"

Sharpay obediently went over to the fridge and came back with a lemon. Zeke efficiently sliced the lemon in half, and sprinkled sugar and lemon juice over one of the plain pancakes, before offering it to her on a plate.

"Try that."

"Lemon and sugar?" Sharpay said, wrinkling up her nose.

"Haven't you ever tried that?" Zeke said in surprise.

"That sounds… really weird," she declared.

"Sometimes you have to try something different to realise that you might like it," Zeke said casually.

Sharpay paused contemplatively before pulling out a knife and fork from the drawer. She set the plate down onto the bench and cut a neat triangle piece of pancake. She took a breath before popping the pancake into her mouth. She was wincing as she chewed, but her look of disgust faded away as she took in the flavours.

"Oh my God! This is incredible!" she exclaimed.

"I know. What do you normally have on your pancakes?"

"I like strawberries and ice-cream with mine."

"Strawberries and ice-cream are good."

"This is different. You're right… sometimes… sometimes different can be good. You might not expect to like it, but it can surprise you."

Sharpay suddenly realised the double entendre within the words she was speaking. Zeke was looking at her with a slight smile on his face, and she quickly tore her eyes away from him.

"Yo Zeke!" Chad came into the kitchen, the rest of the crew trailing behind him – henceforth destroying the moment.

"Danforth," Zeke said between gritted teeth.

"How long on the pancakes? I'm starving!" Chad exclaimed.

* * *

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

A blood curling scream echoed throughout the Evans' backyard, all the way down to the guest house where Troy was in the process of tidying up.

"What the hell was that?" Troy exclaimed, terror striking through him.

The upper class area of Albuquerque, New Mexico wasn't exactly crime wave central, but Troy watched the news enough to allow his brain to go to a place of absolute terror at the sound of the scream.

While Gabriella had been in the shower, Troy had gotten dressed himself and then picked up her items of clothing and left them on the bed, laid out neatly for her. Gabriella dashed out from the bedroom where she had just finished changing into her clothes.

"Come on," she insisted, the look of fear in her own eyes mirroring the look in Troy's.

He grabbed her hand, abandoning cleaning duty and darting out of the guest house, the door left open behind them. Gabriella didn't even take the time to observe the intricate path through the garden that she had been led along blind folded the previous night.

Another blood curling scream sounded, Troy's ears pricking up. He stopped in his tracks, standing protectively in front of Gabriella and holding his arm out in front of her to prevent her from moving forward.

"Near the pool," he said in a hush. "Let's suss it out."

"Maybe we should go back. Call 911," Gabriella whispered urgently.

From their angle of approach, the pool was surrounded by palm trees preventing a clear view into the area. Troy crept forward, moving sleekly, just wanting to get close enough to hear what was going on. A loud booming laugh sounded, laughter Troy knew belonged to none other than Chad Danforth.

"That was awesome!" Jason exclaimed.

Troy felt his body relax and he moved the final few steps to be able to view the scene.

The Wildcats had finally pitched in and helped Zeke with finishing up breakfast preparations. They decided to eat outside by the pool, enjoying one of the last not completely freezing days before winter would set in. When Jason had appeared in the kitchen, Sharpay had proceeded to throw a tirade of questions at him about his movie script. The result had been her following them outside to pile up her own plate with pancakes and continue with her inquisition. She had spontaneously decided to rehearse. Her part being a young girl who is being chased by a supernatural serial killer. Hence involving a lot of terrified screaming.

"Holy fuck!" Troy exclaimed, realising just exactly what had made him and Gabriella so scared.

Gabriella had seen him relax, and strode forward so that she too could take in what he had realised.

"Thank God, everyone is okay!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Oh look who appeared!" Chad said, looking at Troy and Gabriella suspiciously.

Troy stalked over, passed through the pool gate and went over to the group.

"Was that you screaming?" Troy demanded, his arms folded as he stared at Sharpay accusingly.

"Was I that good? You really thought something was happening?" Sharpay was clearly excited, impressed with her own performance.

"Yes!" Troy exclaimed, annoyance seeping through his tone. "You shouldn't come out into your backyard and practice screaming like that, your neighbours will think something is happening! It's like little kids yelling help while they are in the pool and stuff."

Gabriella had followed behind him, slipping in to stand beside him. Her hand absentmindedly fell to Troy's back, rubbing soothingly. She sensed that he was more annoyed that they had been disturbed and brought out of their hide out than he was actually annoyed at Sharpay.

"Oh please, old Mr Caldwell is as deaf as a post. And the Howard's are on holidays," Sharpay shot back. "I can't believe you thought that was real, I've never done horror before. This is a very worthwhile experience for an actress. I don't think it's a field that I am particularly interested in pursuing, but it's worth experimenting to tap into some different skill sets."

"Where have you guys been?" Chad asked, probing yet again.

"Around," Troy said elusively.

"Yum, you guys are having pancakes!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Oooh, is that chocolate chip?"

"Pull up a chair, there's plenty to go around," Zeke said, gesturing to the piles of pancakes on the table.

"Where did you just come from?" Chad asked, glancing back at where Troy had appeared by the palm trees.

Troy ignored Chad, and dragged over a chair for Gabriella and then one for himself, since she seemed so intent upon the pancakes.

"So you guys just rushed from wherever you were…" Chad said slowly. "Hearing Sharpay? You dropped everything you were doing – and you're all dressed and everything."

Both Troy and Gabriella found Chad's nosiness highly amusing.

"Dude, you're like a dog with a bone. Oh snap, strawberries!" Troy exclaimed. "Man, I am starving. I feel like I could just keep eating and eating."

"You should try the lemon and sugar," Sharpay suggested.

Troy wrinkled up his nose. "Gross."

"I like it," she said defiantly.

"I'm a strawberry girl myself," Gabriella said. She reached out across the table to grab a knife and fork, and involuntarily winced aloud as she sat back down in the chair.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked immediately.

"Fine," Gabriella said, rubbing his leg gently.

"What happened?" Martha asked.

"Oh… I think just all the dancing and stuff this week. My body doesn't like it. It's used to books and other… stationary activities," Gabriella explained meekly. She wasn't technically lying, what they had been doing was technically _like_ a dance.

Taylor was sneaking little looks at her friend, trying to catch her eye and initiate some sort of silent girl talk, but eventually gave up.

"So is everyone just chilling here today?" Gabriella asked.

"It seems so," Ryan answered.

"We should do some SAT prep," Taylor suggested, her tone very serious.

"Isn't that what we're doing for the next two days?" Chad pointed out.

"And then five whole days until we have to be back at school," Jason said, his tone clearly excited.

"I don't want to think about the SATs today," Troy declared. "Tomorrow, I'll start thinking about the SATs and school and college. Today, it doesn't matter."

* * *

Three months had passed since the Wildcats had all been lounging about in the Evans' backyard. Three months ago, they had been days away from embarking upon their senior year journey. They'd sat and pored over class schedules, they'd discussed the excitement and yet terror of the year that lay before them.

Since then, three months had passed and, for better or worse, each had grown a little. Each had been through their own trials and tribulations. Some played out in the public eye, others a personal battle kept privy from their friends.

In two weeks time, they were taking the SAT exams. College applications were due over the next couple of months. Juilliard auditions, basketball playoffs – were all just around the corner.

It felt like yesterday and a million years ago when a time had existed where the future was so distant and faraway that it was an intangible concept.

That time had passed.

The future was looming and it was real. Senior year represented the most exciting period of their lives; yes a period of friendship and relationships and musicals and sporting competitions. But it was also a time filled with moments that could define the rest of their lives.

Once Upon A Time - was no more.

In the Evans' backyard, The Wildcats allowed themselves to take a few hours. and pretend that none of it mattered.

Because in that moment, they had each other. And that was all that truly counted.

* * *


	53. Author's Note

**A G E N D A**

* * *

**1. General Rambling**

**2. Thank you's**

**3. Outline of how **_**The Someday Trilogy **_**will progress from here**

* * *

**1. General Rambling**

This has been a sometimes painful, sometimes wonderful but always enriching journey. This story has grown and I have grown with it as a person. I took it with me as I navigated the world and I brought it home with me as I have been in this really scary emotional process of trying to work out what it is that I can take from my trip, in the larger scheme of life. I've been in the midst of writing chapters and just randomly burst into crying, sobbing, wailing fits, not really understanding where it came from. Maybe I had PMS at the time. Who knows.

When I first envisaged _Someday_, I had a bunch of cutesy ideas about smut that I could write that logically would take place during Senior Year. Gradually more came to me and it just… it exploded into this whole universe, a universe that scares the crap out of me. I hope I have the strength within to see the whole trilogy through, regardless of how HSM3 leaves me feeling about my own plot directions and the ways that my characters have evolved into a place so different to the movie... I say now that the evolution is different in a good way, but I suspect that once I've seen the film I will think differently.

* * *

**2. Thank you's**

I would like to thank **Disney**, **Kenny Ortega** and **Peter Barsocchini** for laying the foundation of the universe which I feel privileged to be able to toy with. I would like to thank them for building such beautiful, intense characters and then leaving such dramatic transitionary, emotional and character arc gaps within the first two films; to the point that I felt inspired to take the Disney foundation and form it into something real. I would like to thank them for hiring **Monique, Kaycee, Corbin, Oleysa, Ryne, Ashley, Chris, Lucas, Vanessa **and most importantly, **Zachary David Alexander Efron (a.k.a. Zac, The Hotness, Efron, Zefron, The Being Who Fuels My Will To Live…)**. I would like to thank the cast for bringing this Disney world to life. I would like to thank **Zac's parents** for being the creators of the by-product of their union. I would like to thank **Zac** for being so brilliant and for changing my world. Seriously. I'm not being dramatic. I would like to thank the hard working **technical team of fanfiction dot net** for providing this mechanism for budding authors like myself to tap into the wingspans of our creative spirits.

…………………

**My 'real life' friends**

One of whom, as I write this, has just taken the arduous task of reading this story. If, as a straight male non HSM loving friend, he gets through this whole story… I don't know what I'll do for him. Something. To be determined.

I would like to thank my 'real life' friends who put up with more than they should have to in terms of me and my ramblings about this fandom, about my fiction, about The Hotness. My real life friends who may feel as though they come second to my writings, who will actually have social plan suggestions fobbed off because 'I feel like writing' or 'I need to update'.

You guys never come second. Never, ever, ever will you come second. Please know that.

…………………

I would like to thank **my 'official' beta readers**.

**Ayen**

(If you ever read this) I am so enormously grateful for your assistance up til chapter 40. Don't ever doubt my gratitude toward you. I was embarking upon something so incredibly different here compared to what I was used to, just a set of far more mature themes, and it was through your encouragement that I had the confidence to delve into this aspect of my creative spirit.

**Martin**

Thank you so much for jumping on board at my sudden request. Thank you so much for your ever thoughtful analysis. We don't always agree but that's the beauty of the fictional world, there is no right or wrong. I know it's been rough especially throughout this back half where I became rather demanding of efficient turn around but it all came together somehow. Thank you for pushing me and making me expand my mind and think outside the box and just for being your usual intriguingly analytical self. I feel like I've learnt so much about myself, not only as an author but just in general about how I operate and interact and respond as a human being, and I owe a large portion of that growth in some way or another to you. I'm glad that someone such as yourself is able to somehow look past the stereotype and to embrace this fandom because I know that my experience within this fandom would not have been the same without you as a part of my journey.

…………………

**Beyond the 'official' crew** I have other thanks which go against my previous policy of not pointing out specific people, but this time I really have to.

**Nel**

From your almost timid request of whether I would be interested in beta reading for you, to now where… barely a day goes by when we don't converse in one way or another. Thank you for putting up with my random tirades of questions about American school life and teenage slang and requests for suggestions for songs and costumes and to name random original characters. Thank you for listening to me bitch and moan about writers block, letting me bounce ideas off you, for nagging me to give you previews and for just being there on an every day basis. Thank you for being such a constant rock, such a constant ear, a constant source of motivation. I'm looking forward to moving to LA with you – we joke about it, but it will happen you mark my word!

**Audrey**

I'm so incredibly looking forward to embarking upon the rest of this series with your 'promotion' into official status. Thank you for the official assistance as the _All Things Pink Consultant_ and thank you for becoming so, so, so much more than that. You know what you do. I don't think I could have gotten through this without you, I don't think I'll be able to get through the rest without you. (**No pressure**.) I don't know how to define in words just how amazing I think you are, just how much you inspire me on so many levels. You're an amazing woman who puts soooo much into this fandom and who deserves so much back. The people who matter understand this. The rest can stick pins in their eyes.

_**To all of my readers and my supporters**_**.**

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to **each and every single person who reads this story.** Thank you for taking the time out of your day to give a crap about the product of some random Australian woman's obsession with a celebrity. In particular, thank you to those of you who have at one time or another taken the time to share your thoughts with me. Thank you to the people who put up with my random bitching and rambles via e-mail or IM or PM, the people who brighten my day with funny stories and anecdotes and tales about phantom babies, the people who make me laugh and make me realise that this is worthwhile. Thank you to everyone who has ever contacted me in one way or another to let me know that they appreciate what I am doing; whether it be through review or e-mail or PM or IM; whether it be a random one off, or if you are one of the so many people who have been so wonderfully consistent in being continually supportive.

I feel so humbled. I very seriously do. I'm just a young woman who loves writing and loves this fandom and loves writing about this fandom. It blows me away every time I get positive feedback, it very seriously touches me somewhere deep inside. Understand that your words mean the world to me.

* * *

**3. **_**The Someday Trilogy**_** – Where to from here?**

This story that I have just completed is known as Someday but technically, it is _**The **__**Someday Trilogy: Part One – Once Upon A Time**__. _I have my own version of a senior year plot in mind that will continue through until after graduation. This is being written independently of High School Musical 3. From what I hear, the film is amazing. I won't see it until December. That doesn't really matter, because my story is different. I've taken the base of characters provided so scantly in the first two films and rounded them out and allowed their characters to dictate their lives from there. Hence that they have reached what I am certain is a place that on many levels is different to what they are experiencing within the Disney version of the HSM3 world.

I hope you guys will see this through with me. I know that in the wait for HSM3, a lot of you have found this story to be something to fill in the time in that anticipatory wait that is senior year based. Now, you're going to have to throw that mentality out the window, and accept _The Someday Trilogy _as being an alternative senior year, a senior year which may bare some similarities – after all, the foundations are the same – but ultimately, **will not be the same**. I really hope that you guys will be willing to see through my universe. If you do, even beyond _The Someday Trilogy_ I have college era style fiction planned, and knowing my brain, God knows what else beyond that.

I am planning to take a few weeks off from posting _The Someday Trilogy_ to plan and start writing _Part Two – This Moment._ Note that I write ahead of time. I don't actually produce a chapter every two days. I am not super human. I pre-wrote the whole way through this, starting out with more than twenty chapters already written and keeping ahead of that, and just gradually catching up to myself as I went along to the point where at the end, I was struggling to meet the HSM3 deadline.

During my time off from posting _Someday_ I am also going to dabble with some other ideas I want to tap into, different fandoms, but nothing serious. Just something different to keep my muse satiated. Ultimately _The Someday Trilogy_ is my baby and my priority.

Stylistically, I anticipate you can expect something different from the remainder of this trilogy. I think there will be way less chapters in each of the remaining two parts; I think time will move quicker, I think there will be more time that won't be covered. I say that now, but watch as I will soon be posting 'Part 2, Chapter 83'.

You will notice that whereas on a certain level there is resolution to a lot of the plot lines I have delved into; there is also a lot that is left hanging. Because this is a trilogy. And because the issues from here will follow over onto Part 2. This isn't a deliberate ploy to make you want to read Part 2. Rather, it is that the TxG plot arc formed the overall story arc of Part 1 – and the other arcs are at different places within the tale. The key thing seemingly 'missing' here is the Troy/Gabriella 'discussion' re. the future. This was intentional. Part 1 is about the youthful innocence that comes with denial. It wouldn't have fit to have ended the Part in that way.

If you want to continue to follow the trilogy and you rely upon alerts to be informed of various updates, I need to be in your author alert because _**The Someday Trilogy: Part Two - This Moment**_ will be posted as a separate story.

I repeat. Someday Part 2 This Moment, a separate story. This here will not be updated any longer. _**Author Alert**_ required.

Anyway. I think that's all. I think I've finally run out of words – for now.

Thank you once again to each and every single person who has been reading and following this story. I would really love it if you could take the time to leave one final snippet of your thoughts, even if you've been following silently.

With much love,

Danielle a.k.a. Dani a.k.a. Pandora147

xoxoxo


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